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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
CELEBRATING THE 80TH BIRTHDAY OF DR. PETER ORRIS
WHEREAS, on this 18th day of December 2025, the Cook County Board of the State of Illinois honors Dr. Peter Orris on the occasion of his 80th birthday and 50th year as a physician on the staff of Cook County Health; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Orris holds a B.A. from Harvard College, an M.P.H. from Yale University, an M.D. from The Chicago Medical School of Rosalind Franklin University, and completed residencies in Internal Medicine and Occupational Medicine at Cook County Hospital; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Orris has held numerous positions at Cook County Health over his five decades of service, including Attending Physician in the Divisions of Emergency Medicine, General Internal Medicine, and Occupational Medicine, Chair of the Institutional Review Board, and President of the Executive Medical Staff; and
WHEREAS, as a Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health and Chief of Occupational and Environmental Medicine for the UI Health System, Dr. Orris has advanced research and education on international healthcare, toxic chemical exposures, sustainable health, and climate change; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Orris played pivotal roles as a Strike Coordinator in the landmark 1975 Cook County Housestaff Strike and as an organizer of the Doctors Council, SEIU to secure collective bargaining rights for Cook County Health physicians; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Orris has provided vital expertise and leadership to government agencies, labor organizations, and global health bodies including the Illinois State Board of Health, the US/Canadian International Joint Commission, the World Health Organization, and the World Medical Association; and
WHEREAS, as a founding member of the Chicago Area Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, Health Care Without Harm, and Physicians for a National Health Program, Dr. Orris has championed coalitions for ...
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