HR1352 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1352 LRB098 23208 GRL 62216 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois General Assembly wish to congratulate McHenry County Clerk Katherine Schultz on the occasion of her retirement after 55 years of dedicated service to the McHenry County Clerk's Office; and

WHEREAS, Katherine Schultz went to work at the McHenry County Clerk's Office on October 16, 1959, shortly after graduating from Woodstock High School; her first job was as a Deputy Clerk under former County Clerk Vernon Kays; and

WHEREAS, In those early years, Katherine Schultz worked on automating voter registration records by using metal plates with an addressograph machine; and

WHEREAS, In 1965, Katherine Schultz was put in charge of voter registration; in 1969, she became involved with the transition to a punch card system for voting; and

WHEREAS, Katherine Schultz began the tedious duty of performing tax extensions by hand in 1972, which was before the era of personal computers; in 1973, she became the Chief Tax Extender; and

WHEREAS, In 1978, Katherine Schultz began serving as Chief Deputy Clerk for County Clerk Rosemary Azzaro; and

WHEREAS, On December 1, 1990, Katherine Schultz was elected to serve as County Clerk of McHenry County; since her election in 1990, she has served a total of 6 full terms; and

WHEREAS, Due to Katherine Schultz's leadership, McHenry County became the first large county to implement optical scan voting technology in 1999-2000; and

WHEREAS, In 2001, Katherine Schultz was recognized by the Illinois House of Representatives through a resolution for her research and implementation of the optical scanning voting machines; and

WHEREAS, At the October 20, 2009 McHenry County Board meeting, Katherine Schultz was honored with a special proclamation in appreciation of her 50 years of service to McHenry County; and

WHEREAS, On October 20, 2009 an oak tree was planted and the road leading into the lot at the McHenry County Administration Building was named the "Honorary Katherine C. Schultz Way" in honor of Katherine Schultz's 50 years of service; and

WHEREAS, In 2011, the Illinois Association of County Clerks and Recorders named Katherine Schultz "County Clerk of the Year" for being the best in her profession in the State and in honor of her vast knowledge, experience, and helpfulness to other county clerks; and

WHEREAS, The 2013 McHenry County Annual Financial Report was dedicated to Katherine Schultz in recognition of her outstanding service to the citizens of McHenry County and her many contributions to the County Clerk's Office; and

WHEREAS, During her time in the Clerk's Office, Katherine Schultz has been involved with voting in 13 presidential elections; the county's population has grown tremendously during her time in the Clerk's Office, from 47,137 voters in 58 precincts in 1960 to 204,440 voters in 212 precincts today; and

WHEREAS, A reception will be held for Katherine Schultz on December 3, 2014 in honor of her retirement and her many years of dedicated service; and

WHEREAS, After 55 years in the McHenry County Clerk's Office and 24 years as McHenry County Clerk, Katherine Schultz has been responsible for many acts that have improved the transparency, efficiency, and integrity of McHenry County elections; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank McHenry County Clerk Katherine Schultz for her many years of service to the people of McHenry County, congratulate her on the occasion of her retirement, and wish her all the best in her future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Katherine Schultz as an expression of our congratulations and appreciation for a job well done.