RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Members of this Chamber are proud to congratulate our friend and colleague, Alderman Patrick O'Connor, on his thirty-six years of dedicated service to the people of the 40th Ward and the City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, A lifelong resident of the Northwest Side of Chicago, Alderman O'Connor graduated from St. Hilary School, where he met his future wife Barbara, and Mather High School. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree and Juris Doctor Degree at Loyola University of Chicago. A true family man, who deeply loved the neighborhood where he was raised, Alderman O'Connor and Barbara raised their family there. Today, their five children and seven grandchildren, as well as three of Alderman O'Connor's five siblings, reside within a few blocks of one another in the 40th Ward; and
WHEREAS, First elected as Alderman ofthe 40th Ward in 1983, at age 28, Alderman O'Connor served nine consecutive terms in office. In 1984, Alderman O'Connor was elected as 40'1 Ward Democratic Committeeman, a position he holds today; and
- WHEREAS, In Alderman O'Connor's words: "The job of an alderman has two parts. The first is to serve as the steward ofthe City's services for the community ... The second is to help inform and pass on public policy that relates to the entire City ... ." Guided by this belief, Alderman O'Connor applied priorities and a vision for the 40lh Ward that emphasized economic development, fiscal responsibility, worker protection, education, ethics and transparency, and ensuring that day-to-day core city functions, such as trash collection, public safety and public transportation, are performed consistently and well; and
WHEREAS, A strong proponent of quality education, Alderman O'Connor understood the importance of modernizing schools, creating high-performance schools, and adequately compensating teachers and school administrators. Nationally recognized as a leader in public education, Alderman O'Connor received numerous awards recognizing his efforts on behalf of public education. His tireless efforts as an advocate for education funding in Springfield resulted in better pay for teachers and ushered in an unprecedented period of cooperation between the Chicago Board of Education and the labor unions serving Chicago's teachers and students. A founding member ofthe League of Cities Institute on Youth Education and Families, headquartered in Washington, DC, Alderman O'Connor was instrumental at the local level in bringing Northside College Preparatory High School to the North Park neighborhood; in securing an expansion of Jamieson Elementary School; and in helping to secure additions, new playgrounds and infrastructure improvements at almost every public school in the 40lh Ward; and
WHEREAS, The son of Irish immigrants, whose father worked as a Deputy Commissioner in the Department of Streets and Sanitation under former Mayor Richard J. Daley, Alderman O'Connor was particularly cognizant of the barriers faced by many workers and their families, and of their need for good jobs that pay a living wage. As Chairman ofthe Committee
on Workforce Development and Audit, Alderman O'Connor shepherded through the City Council the City's groundbreaking Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, and he presided over the creation of an Office of Labor Standards to ensure that the Ordinance is vigorously enforced; and
WHEREAS, A champion of issues affecting health and wellness, Alderman O'Connor secured passage of legislation requiring liquor establishments to warn pregnant women about the dangers of drinking alcohol while pregnant. He was awarded the prestigious American Cancer Society Partner in Progress Award in recognition of his exceptional leadership in the fight to make Chicago smoke free. And he helped secure $2.4 in TIF funding for a new Women's Center and Emergency Room at Swedish Covenant Hospital; and
WHEREAS, For the last 30 years, Alderman O'Connor has led Town Hall meetings in the 40th Ward to hear and address the concerns of community residents, and he recently created an account on Nextdoor to facilitate better communication with neighborhood groups. Under Alderman O'Connor's guiding hand, the City purchased over 20 acres of forest and lake property in Rosehill Cemetery to create a family-friendly nature preserve in the heart of the 40th Ward; and
WHEREAS, Alderman O'Connor is widely admired for his keen sense of duty, personal integrity, negotiating skills, fairness and open-mindedness. His understated but influential presence in the Chicago City Council will be sorely missed by his colleagues; and
WHEREAS, Alderman O'Connor served with distinction on many Chicago City Council Committees, including most recently as Chairman of the Committee on Finance; as Chairman of the Committee on Workforce Development and Audit; and as a member of the Committee on Aviation; Committee on Committees, Rules and Ethics; Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development; and Committee on Education and Child Development; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members ofthe City Council ofthe City of Chicago, assembled this tenth day of April, 2019, do hereby extend to Alderman Patrick O'Connor our deepest gratitude and thanks for his many years of exceptional service to the people of Chicago, and our best wishes for continued success in all of his future endeavors; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Alderman Patrick O'Connor as a token of our appreciation and esteem.