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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE RETIREMENT OF KAY WHITLOCK
WHEREAS, Kay Whitlock, PE, D.WRE, has dedicated fifty-six years of extraordinary service, visionary leadership, and engineering excellence to the field of water resources, stormwater management, and flood control across the nation; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Whitlock began her illustrious career with the State of Illinois from 1970 to 1988, serving as a Hydraulic Engineer and Chief of Engineering Studies, where she spent 18 years brilliantly administering the State’s participation in cooperative flood control programs, leading urban flood control design, and coordinating landmark regional initiatives including The Lower Des Plaines River Tributaries Watershed Plan of 1985; and
WHEREAS, she then served as the Chief Stormwater Engineer for DuPage County from 1988 to 1990, where she successfully developed a multi-faceted Stormwater Management Plan and secured the adoption of the trailblazing Stormwater and Flood Plain Ordinance, establishing standard-setting regulations for floodplain management, wetlands protection, and erosion control; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Whitlock brought her immense talents to California from 1990 to 2000 as the Assistant General Manager and Flood Control Manager for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, where she skillfully managed Emergency Operations during major historic floods, championed a municipally supported clean and safe creeks tax measure generating $25 million annually, and negotiated massive, critical federal flood project agreements for Coyote Creek and the Guadalupe River totaling nearly $300 million; and
WHEREAS, in June 2001, Ms. Whitlock joined Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. (CBBEL) as Vice President, dedicating 25 years of masterful leadership to complex, multi-disciplinary water resource projects, including her monumental work managing hydrology, hydraulics, and permitting for the multi-decade O’Hare Modernization Program and subsequent airport terminal developments; and
WHEREAS, during her tenure at CBBEL, she continued to shape regional infrastructure by collaborating with the MWRD to develop the 2005 Stormwater Management Plan for Cook County, serving as Project Manager for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects in Cedar Lake, Indiana, and guiding the Will County Stormwater Management Planning Committee; and
WHEREAS, Ms Whitlock is a trailblazer as a woman in engineering and has been a gracious and generous mentor to civic leaders across sectors and across the country; and
WHEREAS, in June 2026, Ms. Whitlock transitions into a well-deserved retirement from her full-time role, assuming the title of Vice President Emerita, where she will continue to enrich the engineering community in an advisory capacity, dedicating her vast wisdom to mentoring the next generation of engineers and strengthening regional relationships; and
NOW THEREFOR BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners congratulate Kay Whitlock for her profound contributions environmental stewardship, civil engineering infrastructure and civic leadership over the past nearly six decades; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this text be spread upon the official proceedings of this honorable body, and that a suitable copy be presented to Kay Whitlock.
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