HR1176 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1176 LRB100 22452 ALS 41340 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Dr. Arun C. Pinto on his retirement from the Human Service Center after 14 years as the Senior Vice President and Corporate Medical Director; and

WHEREAS, For more than a decade, Dr. Pinto has concurrently served as the Medical Director for several organizations, including the Human Service Center, the Children's Home Association of Illinois, and the Peoria County Adult and Juvenile Detention Center; he previously served as the Medical Director of Methodist Medical Center's Department of Psychiatry, where he was also the Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Pinto graduated from St. Xavier's College in 1966 and Seth G.S. Medical College in 1974; he completed internships with K.E.M. Hospital in Mumbai, India and Cook County Hospital in Chicago; he completed his residency in adult psychiatry and a fellowship in child psychiatry at Tulane University Affiliated Hospitals in New Orleans, Louisiana; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Pinto served as an Assistant Professor and Clinical Instructor at Tulane Medical School from 1975 until 1980; since 1980, he has served his community by offering his leadership and expertise as a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Pinto is currently a Board Member of the Illinois Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and a Council Member of the Illinois Psychiatric Society; he also serves on the Central IL Coalition for Mental Health Recovery; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Pinto was named a Distinguished Fellow by the American Psychiatric Association, was awarded the University of Illinois Community Health Award, and received the Pathways Award for Advocacy in recognition for his extraordinary commitment to the behavioral health of the community; he received further recognition from NAMI with an Exemplary Psychiatrist Award and the Hero's in the Fight Award, which he received twice; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Pinto was instrumental in numerous community reforms, including the Peoria County Mental Health Court, the establishment of a psychiatric residency at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, and the development of a Crisis Center for decompensating and substance-afflicted individuals; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Pinto impacted important state-wide mental health statutory reforms, including empowering families to initiate involuntary commitment of decompensating family members and legislation that enables college students to sign a confidentiality waiver allowing parents to be notified in the event of a mental health issue while at an institution of higher learning; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Pinto was born in Mumbai, India on April 14, 1949; his parents, as well as three of his five siblings, are physicians; he married Mary Jo Lehnhausen in 1977 and became a United States citizen on September 24, 1982; he and his wife are active in St. Thomas Parish; they are the parents of Navin (Jennifer) Pinto, Kiran (Cory Morris) Pinto, and Anjali Pinto and the grandparents of Elly and Frances Pinto; he enjoys spending time with his family and friends and looks forward to spending his retirement cooking elaborate meals and traveling the globe; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Pinto is highly respected and deeply loved by his family and all who know him; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Dr. Arun Pinto, and we wish him the best of luck in his retirement; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Pinto as an expression of our esteem and respect.