92_SR0596
LRB9218497HShs
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Kathy Parker has represented the people of the
3 29th District in the Illinois Senate since 1995; and
4 WHEREAS, She has been commended for efforts on behalf of
5 women, children, and families to make day care accessible,
6 streamline the adoption process, fight crime, and make
7 divorce laws more equitable; and
8 WHEREAS, Kathy was chairman of the Senate Transportation
9 Committee for nearly three years after serving as
10 vice-chairman for five years, but her work with
11 transportation issues started many years ago; and
12 WHEREAS, From 1983 to 1995, she served as a member of the
13 Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors; and
14 WHEREAS, In 1991, she was appointed by President George
15 H. Bush to the United States Architectural and Transportation
16 Barriers Compliance Board and served as chairman from 1992 to
17 1994; and
18 WHEREAS, She also served on the Governors Committee on
19 Transportation for the Disabled, the Womens Transportation
20 Study, the American Legislative Exchange Council, Trade and
21 Transportation Task Force, and the Interstate Rail Passenger
22 Advisory Council; and
23 WHEREAS, She sponsored several bills to hold the Illinois
24 Toll Highway Authority more accountable to the millions of
25 motorists who pay to drive on its roads each year; and
26 WHEREAS, She sponsored "Scott's Law" to protect public
27 safety personnel by requiring motorists to take certain
28 precautions when approaching a barricade or emergency vehicle
29 displaying flashing warning lights; and
30 WHEREAS, She sponsored a vehicle seizure law, allowing
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1 police to seize the vehicle of a motorist who is caught
2 driving on a suspended or revoked driver's license or permit;
3 and
4 WHEREAS, She sponsored a new law that imposes tougher
5 penalties on drunk motorists convicted of causing bodily harm
6 in school speed zones during school hours; and
7 WHEREAS, Illinois citizens who use mental health services
8 have a strong friend in Senator Parker; and
9 WHEREAS, The 29th District Senator was chair of the
10 Senate Mental Health Treatment and Evaluation Task Force
11 consisting of mental health experts and advocates, which was
12 established in 1999 to gather information about mental health
13 laws and what changes might be needed; and
14 WHEREAS, Those hearings resulted in legislation
15 addressing issues such as rights of recipients of mental
16 health services; admission, transfer, and discharge
17 procedures for persons with mental illness; and the treatment
18 of persons with mental illness who are being held by
19 authorities pending trial; and
20 WHEREAS, Senator Parker has been honored by the Illinois
21 Association of Rehabilitation Facilities for her efforts to
22 support mental health parity legislation that would require
23 individual and group insurance policies to provide coverage
24 for serious mental illness under the same terms and
25 conditions as coverage is provided for other illnesses; and
26 WHEREAS, Kathy Parker graduated from the University of
27 Miami (FL) with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications;
28 and
29 WHEREAS, She and her husband Keith have two sons; and
30 WHEREAS, When she leaves, her legacy to the State of
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1 Illinois will be one of commitment to the greater good and
2 representation of people with disabilities; therefore be it
3 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
4 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Kathy
5 Parker for eight years of dedication as State Senator for the
6 29th District; and be it further
7 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this preamble and
8 resolution be presented to Kathy Parker with our thanks for a
9 lot of hard work and for acting as a voice for those whose
10 concerns might not otherwise be heard.