Bill Text: IL SR1066 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Honors retiring State Senator Chris Lauzen on 20 years of service to the citizens of his district and the State of Illinois.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-01-08 - Resolution Adopted [SR1066 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-SR1066-Introduced.html

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SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Illinois State Senator Chris Lauzen has
represented the citizens of Kane, Kendall, and LaSalle counties
and northeastern Illinois with distinction in the Illinois
State Senate for 20 years; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was first elected to the Senate in
1992, promising to "work hard, stay honest, and use common
sense"; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was one of a group of newly-elected
conservative State senators known as the "Fab Five", including
Senator Dave Syverson, Senator Steve Rauschenberger, Senator
Patrick O'Malley, and Senator Peter Fitzgerald, who
consistently voted to limit the size of government, protect
individual freedoms, expose corruption in both parties, and
introduce fair accounting rules to the State budget; and
WHEREAS, Throughout his two decades of service, Senator
Lauzen has represented his constituents in Springfield with
determination and distinction, fighting hard to make the State
of Illinois a better place to live and work; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen personally responds to all
correspondence, telephone calls or emails, he receives from

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constituents; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen started "Illinois Porkbusters",
which seeks to cut $5 million in wasteful spending each year
from the State budget; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen sponsored a property tax
assessment freeze for homeowners older than 65 with incomes
less than $35,000, was the lead sponsor of the "5% Pay Cut for
Politicians" legislation, and sponsored the largest employment
tax decrease in the past 16 years; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen worked to reduce property taxes on
VFW and American Legion veterans' posts by 85% and place a cap
on future increases; and
WHEREAS, As a supporter of effective public education,
Senator Lauzen helped secure more than $48 million for school
construction grants; he sponsored education license plates for
future teachers' scholarships and was the only senator to speak
out and vote against tuition discounts for illegal immigrants
at public universities; and
WHEREAS, To counter the rising costs of medical care,
Senator Lauzen launched a prescription medication pilot
program that saved participants an average of 50% on the cost

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of drugs, at no expense to taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen sponsored a ban on intact dilation
and extraction abortion; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was the original lead sponsor of
the Breast Cancer Research voluntary check-off on the State
personal income tax return, which has raised millions of
dollars for breast cancer research; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen served as Republican Spokesman of
the Senate Revenue Committee since 2003; he was a member of the
Senate Pensions and Investments Committee, the Senate
Appropriations I and II committees, and was co-chair of the
Legislative Audit Commission; and
WHEREAS, In recognition of his consistently pro-employment
record, Senator Lauzen was honored by the Illinois Chamber of
Commerce with the "Champion of Free Enterprise" award in 2002
and 2012, and by the NFIB with the "Guardian of Small Business"
award in 1996; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen also received the John Ericcson
Republican League of Illinois Award in 2011, the Illinois Farm
Bureau Friend of Agriculture Activator Award in 2008 and 2010,
the IATCD Legislator of the Year in 2009, the A.B.A.T.E.

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Recognition of Support of Our Freedom Award in 2009, the
Illinois Civil Justice League "Friends of Fairness" Award in
2007, the Army National Guard Certificate of Appreciation
Support of the Illinois Army National Guard and Charlie Troop
2/106th Calvary in 2007, the Outstanding Senator Award from the
DuPage County Farm Bureau, the Education Center Community
Leadership Award in 2000, the Holy Angels School Alumnus of the
Year in 1999, the Illinois Family Institute Leadership Award in
1997, the Marmion Academy Centurion Award in 1996, the Family
PAC Legislator of the Year in 1996, and the Y-Me National
Breast Cancer Organization Award in Excellence in 1994; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen is a nationally recognized expert
on public pensions; he spoke at the American Legislative
Exchange Council's 2009 Convention in New Orleans, at the
National Conference of State Legislatures' 2009 Convention in
Philadelphia, and at the 2010 U.S. Chamber of Commerce event
broadcast on C-SPAN; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was a member of the Illinois
Economic and Fiscal Commission and the Illinois State Crime
Commission; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen published an article about
education reform with the Heartland Institute and was also a
member of the Institute's Legislative Forum; and

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WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was an elected delegate for the
White House Conference on Small Business in Washington, D.C.,
in 1995; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was appointed to the Economic
Development Board by Sam Skinner; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen has been involved in the Lions
Clubs in several communities, numerous local Chambers of
Commerce, the Compassion Foundation Board of Directors, the Fox
Valley Maoris Rugby team, the Heart of Illinois POW/MIA
Association, the Sons of the American Legion, and the Illinois
Republican National Hispanic Assembly; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was born in Aurora, Illinois, and
raised in the Pigeon Hill neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen earned a bachelor of science degree
with honors in management science and english in 1974 from Duke
University; he received his Certified Public Accountant
credentials in 1976 from the University of Illinois and a
master's degree in business administration in 1978 from Harvard
Business School; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen is a player/member of the Harvard

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Old Boy Rugby Team; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen is currently pursuing a doctorate
in education finance from Northern Illinois University; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen worked as the president of the
Comprehensive Accounting Corporation, where he helped teach
more than 300 accountants how to go into business for
themselves; and
WHEREAS, During his 5 years as president, the number of
franchise offices tripled to 450 nationwide, pre-tax profit
doubled, and the network of accountants served more than 22,000
small-business owners; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen and his wife later purchased a
Comprehensive Accounting franchise, and in less than
four-and-a-half years, he was managing the books and tax
preparation for more than 200 small businesses in the local
area; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen's grandparents emigrated from
Romania to the United States in the early 20th century; and
WHEREAS, On July 28, 2006, Romanian President Traian
Basescu awarded him the Order of the Star of Romania Medal,

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Commander Rank (the highest commendation granted to a foreign
citizen by Romania), in recognition of his work to "build
bridges of friendship and commerce between the people of
Romania and the United States"; and
WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen and his wife, Sarah, are the proud
parents of Ted (wife, Sarah), Elliot, Hans, and Robbie;
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Senator
Lauzen on his retirement from the Illinois State Senate after
20 years of honorable and dedicated service; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this preamble and
resolution be presented to Senator Lauzen with our friendship,
our gratitude for his hard work, and our best wishes for his
future endeavors, including his service as chairman of the Kane
County Board.