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Special recognition of Carol Calabresa for her years of service as Lake County Board Member.
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SPECIAL RECOGNITION
WHEREAS, Carol Calabresa was elected in 1986 to serve as the District 15 representative on the Lake County Board and the Lake County Forest Preserves District Board; and
WHEREAS, Carol Calabresa earned her Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin - Madison; and
WHEREAS, Carol Calabresa was elected to the role of vice-chairman by her peers in December 2012; and
WHEREAS, during her 32 years of service on the County Board, Carol Calabresa sat on numerous standing and ad hoc committees including as vice-chair of the Law and Judicial Committee and as a member of the Health and Community Services, Financial and Administrative, Rules, Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, Building and Health, Ad Hoc Ethics, Ad Hoc Legislative, and Ad Hoc Government Reform Implementation committees; and
WHEREAS, as a Forest Preserve Commissioner, Carol Calabresa served as a member of the Greenbelt Advisory Board, and the Land Preservation and Acquisition, Education, Cultural Resources and Public Information, Ethics, and Planning Committees; and
WHEREAS, 36 forest preserves were created during her tenure, and under her leadership as Forest Preserve President, Independence Grove, Rollins Savanna and Middle Fork Savanna were planned; and
WHEREAS, in her capacity as County Board Member, Carol Calabresa was appointed to serve as a member of the Lake County Board of Health, the Lake County Community Development Commission, the Winchester House Advisory Board, and as an alternate on the Stormwater Management Commission; and
WHEREAS, Carol Calabresa was passionate about and led initiatives to raise awareness of the rising opioid abuse epidemic. During her tenure, Carol Calabresa advocated for Naloxone to be carried and administered by law enforcement and emergency personnel, funding for the Text-A-Tip program, and enactment of state legislation on the “A Way Out” program; and
WHEREAS, Carol Calabresa worked on several mental health initiatives including increasing awareness of the prevalence of individuals suffering from mental health issues, helping secure additional funding for countywide Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training, and supporting early intervention programs by the Health Department; and
WHEREAS, Carol Calabresa served on the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Community Policing Coordinating Council which aims to support programs and initiatives that reduce recidivism by evaluating arrest trends and understanding drivers of the jail population; and
WHEREAS, Carol Calabresa has been involved in many philanthropic and civic organizations including the Lake County Domestic Violence Council, Lake County Opioid Initiative, A Safe Place Advisory Board, Junior Women’s Club, Civic Center Foundation, Libertyville High School Community Forum - Underage Drinking, Friends of Lake County Museum, Libertyville Civic Center Board, Rockland Family Association, Libertyville High School Impact Fee Committee, and the Elawa Farm Board; and
WHEREAS, Carol Calabresa has been married to her husband Bill for 50 years. Together, they have three children and four grandchildren.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RECOGNIZED, that this County Board of Lake County, Illinois, offers its sincere gratitude and appreciation to Carol Calabresa for her dedicated public service to her community and to the citizens of Lake County as Lake County Board Member;
BE IT FURTHER RECOGNIZED, that the County Board offers its best wishes to Carol Calabresa in all her future endeavors.
DATED at Waukegan, Illinois on January 15, 2019.