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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to | ||||||
| 3 | congratulate Becky Cook Kendall on the occasion of her | ||||||
| 4 | retirement as executive director of the Rockford Regional | ||||||
| 5 | Health Council after 16 years; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, The Rockford Regional Health Council, located | ||||||
| 7 | within the University of Illinois College of Medicine | ||||||
| 8 | Rockford, is a 42-year-old nonprofit organization that works | ||||||
| 9 | to improve community health through data collection and | ||||||
| 10 | analysis, education, outreach, and advocacy; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Over the past 16 years, Becky Cook Kendall | ||||||
| 12 | spearheaded a number of initiatives for the Rockford Regional | ||||||
| 13 | Health Council, including the Changing Hearts initiative, | ||||||
| 14 | which addressed health disparities in minority communities | ||||||
| 15 | with a focus on hypertension through implementing a program | ||||||
| 16 | that helped bring blood pressure screenings and heart health | ||||||
| 17 | education to hundreds of participants and assisted in building | ||||||
| 18 | trust between minority communities and health care workers; | ||||||
| 19 | and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Through the Rockford Regional Health Council, | ||||||
| 21 | Becky Cook Kendall helped establish a Rockford Public Schools | ||||||
| 22 | dentistry program by bringing together health care providers | ||||||
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| 1 | and other community groups to implement a school-based program | ||||||
| 2 | that provided access to dental care and preventive services to | ||||||
| 3 | students, resulting in roughly 10,000 students receiving | ||||||
| 4 | screenings and oral health care; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Under Becky Cook Kendall's guidance, the Rockford | ||||||
| 6 | Regional Health Council successfully supported and obtained a | ||||||
| 7 | half-cent sales tax increase in Winnebago County, resulting in | ||||||
| 8 | nearly $20 million in revenue going towards assisting | ||||||
| 9 | community mental health related services and programs; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, Prior to leading the Rockford Regional Health | ||||||
| 11 | Council, Becky Cook Kendall worked for Joseph Behr & Sons from | ||||||
| 12 | 1970 to 1984 and served as vice president of community | ||||||
| 13 | investment for the United Way of Rock River Valley from 1993 to | ||||||
| 14 | 2007; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Becky Cook Kendall will be honored for her years | ||||||
| 16 | of service to the Rockford Regional Health Council at the | ||||||
| 17 | University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford on March | ||||||
| 18 | 22, 2024; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 19 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | ||||||
| 20 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Becky | ||||||
| 21 | Cook Kendall on her retirement as executive director of the | ||||||
| 22 | Rockford Regional Health Council, and we recognize her | ||||||
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| 1 | commitment to serving the communities of the City of Rockford | ||||||
| 2 | and Winnebago County; and be it further | ||||||
| 3 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 4 | presented to congratulate Becky Cook Kendall as an expression | ||||||
| 5 | of our esteem and respect. | ||||||