City Council December 12, 2012
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The pejorative term "bureaucracy" is often applied to large organizational entities in general and to state government in particular; and
WHEREAS, Too seldom do we appreciate that the operational paralysis seemingly threatened by these ponderous structures is avoided only through the ingenuity and diligence of the men and women who comprise these structures; and
WHEREAS, As an organization pledged to service rather than profit, to providing for the commonweal, state government is particularly dependent upon the commitment and dedication of those who execute its functions; and
WHEREAS, The very viability of the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, the United States of America, indeed, of each and every governmental and social entity throughout the world is predicated upon the application of such elemental values as commitment, loyalty and service by its members; and
WHEREAS, From pundit to peon, many are those who lament the increasingly ephemeral nature of those much discussed, often abused and too seldom realized values; and
WHEREAS, Those who epitomize such values have been relatively few in number though great in their impact upon society; and
WHEREAS, We in the State of Illinois have for twenty years reaped the benefits sowed by Hollis C. Polacek, an individual who embodies commitment, loyalty and service; and
WHEREAS, Through her unstinting devotion to and unerringly successful disposition of her duties, Mrs. Polacek personifies the term "public servant"; and
WHEREAS, After committing the earlier years of her career to the clothier Hartmarx, former "big-eight" accounting firm Coopers and Lybrand, law firms Vedder Price as well as Skadden Arps, and Chicago's convention industry, Mrs. Polacek shifted her focus to the public sector, devoting two decades of service to the Illinois Department of Revenue and the Illinois Department of Employment Security; and
WHEREAS, Throughout her career, Hollis C. Polacek has not been content to simply fulfill the requirements of a given position but has indeed defined excellence in public service; and
WHEREAS, The commitment, loyalty and service which have characterized Mrs. Polacek's public service career are also evidenced in her dedication to community service, which is distinguished through her election as the community representative to the first Local School Council of Brenneman Elementary School; and
WHEREAS, A long-time resident of the 14th and later the 46th Wards, Hollis C. Polacek has continued a familial tradition of public service that extends from her late father-in-law John, a Chicago Police detective, and continues through her brother-in-law James, a Chicago Fire Department captain, and her husband John, a retired Managing Editor with the Office of the City Clerk; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Polacek's myriad professional accomplishments and dedication to her community have precluded neither her commitment to nor her enjoyment of travel to destinations such as Russia, China, the Galapagos Islands and the Antarctic; and
WHEREAS, On December 31, 2012, Hollis C. Polacek will bring to a close her distinguished career as a public servant and embark on a well-deserved retirement; now therefore,
Be It Resolved, That we, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the members of the City Council of Chicago, gathered here twelfth day of December, 2012, do hereby extend our sincere appreciation to Hollis C. Polacek for her two decades of exemplary service to the people of Illinois and her contributions to the commonweal and convey to her our best wishes for a long and happy retirement; and
Be It Further Resolved, That a suitable copy of this resolution be prepared and presented to Hollis C. Polacek.