RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Pat Harney, First Deputy Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation, retired from public service effective August 15, 2014, after a long and distinguished career; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has been informed of this significant event by Alderman Mary O'Connor of the 41st Ward; and
WHEREAS, Pat received a Bachelor of Science degree from Marquette University, and a Master of Business Administration from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1983, a combination of academic credentials that established his approach to the challenges of public infrastructure development: technical knowledge coupled with management skills; and
WHEREAS, over the years, Pat has earned a reputation and respect as an expert in construction and management of facilities and infrastructure for the benefit of the public; and
WHEREAS, prior to 2000, Pal served in facilities management positions for the City's Department of Aviation and the Chicago Transit Authority, and also worked for a private infrastructure and security corporation; and
WHEREAS, Pat's abilities and interest brought him back to the public sector in positions of increasing responsibility: from 2000 to October of 2006, Pat served in the City's Department of Aviation, first as Deputy Commissioner responsible for challenging initiatives that included development of the new terminal at Midway Airport, and next as First Deputy Commissioner, overseeing all aspects of the department's operations, development, planning, finances and airport security; and
WHEREAS, in October of 2006, Pat returned for a short time to the CTA as Executive Vice-President, responsible for managing the CTA's capital program, construction, engineering and facilities management; and
WHEREAS, from July of 2007 to 2011, Pat was First Deputy Chief of Staff to Mayor Richard M. Daley, responsible for coordinating the City's approach to infrastructure issues and for managing the City's efforts to invest $2.2 billion in federal economic stimulus funding; and
WHEREAS, in 2011 Pat was appointed and confirmed as Commissioner of the City's Department of Fleet Management, a position he held until that agency was merged with another to form the Department of Fleet and Facility Management; and
WHEREAS, too valuable to lose in the reconfiguration of departments, Pat was immediately named First Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Transportation, where he has overseen CDOT's construction programs as well as the day-to-day operations of the department; and
WHEREAS, although someone will succeed him in his official position, no one can take Pat Harney's place; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Mayor and members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this 10lh day of September, 2014, do hereby congratulate Pat Harney on the occasion of his retirement and thank him for his years of faithful service; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we extend our most sincere wishes to Pat for continued success in his future endeavors; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that suitable copies of this Resolution be presented to Pat Harney as a token of our esteem and appreciation.
Mary O'Connor Alderman, 41st Ward