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92_HR0749
LRB9216498RHrh
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to recognize milestone events in
4 the lives of the citizens of the State of Illinois; and
5 WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that James P. Houk
6 is retiring from his duties as Chief of Police of the Oak
7 Lawn Police Department; and
8 WHEREAS, James P. Houk was born and raised on the South
9 side of Chicago and moved to Oak Lawn in 1968; the son of a
10 Chicago police officer, Jim joined the Oak Park Police
11 Department in 1971; and
12 WHEREAS, Mr. Houk distinguished himself in the patrol
13 division and served as a Crime Prevention Officer and
14 Property Room Director; he was a member of the department's
15 Special Operations Service where he worked as an undercover
16 investigator; and
17 WHEREAS, Mr. Houk was promoted to Sergeant in 1990 and in
18 1992 he was appointed to the position of Deputy Chief; on
19 September 27, 1994 he was named Chief of Police and became
20 the head of one of the largest suburban departments in Cook
21 County, overseeing the duties of 105 police officers and 57
22 civilian employees; and
23 WHEREAS, As Chief, Mr. Houk was instrumental in
24 modernizing the Oak Lawn Police Department; he expanded the
25 community policing concepts in Oak Lawn as well as developed
26 and maintained youth-oriented programs; he was responsible
27 for the growth of the D.A.R.E. program, which reaches over
28 700 students annually, the development of the E.D.G.E.
29 (Education for Gang Evasion), and Peer Jury programs; under
30 James Houk's guidance, a highly effective Tactical Response
31 Team, a K-9 unit, which currently has 2 German Shepherds
-2- LRB9216498RHrh
1 trained for drug searching and tracking, and a bicycle patrol
2 unit were created; and
3 WHEREAS, During his tenure as Police Chief, James Houk
4 has supported the young people of the community in many ways;
5 in May 1995, he assisted Venture Crew 2618 by sponsoring its
6 charter and, in December 2000, with Mr. Houk's support the
7 Law Enforcement Explores, Post 9805 was chartered; and
8 WHEREAS, The Oak Lawn Police Department reaches out to
9 all segments of the community and Chief Houk has seen that
10 his officers receive the ongoing training that is so
11 necessary in the field of law enforcement; and
12 WHEREAS, James Houk and his wife Jean have been married
13 for 34 years; they are the proud parents of Jim, Jennifer,
14 Jannette, and John; they are also the proud grandparents of
15 Delaney, with another grandchild on the way; therefore, be it
16 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18 we congratulate James P. Houk on his retirement from his
19 duties as Chief of Police of the Oak Lawn Police Department;
20 we wish him well in all of his future endeavors; and be it
21 further
22 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
23 presented to James P. Houk as an expression of our esteem.