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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE YEARS OF SERVICE AND DEDICATION OF MATTHEW B. DeLEON
WHEREAS, Matthew (Matt) B. DeLeon will be retiring as Secretary to the Cook County Board of Commissioners and the Forest Preserve of Cook County Board of Commissioners on July 31, 2021; and
WHEREAS, Matt will leave Cook County after an almost 31-year career in local government, nearly three years with the City of Chicago and 28 of those years with Cook County; and
WHEREAS, Matt's family history reflects much of the Asian American experience of the 20th century. His parents were each part of two different waves of Filipino immigration that were essential to the Asian American experience. Twenty-four years apart in age, they would meet through their active participation in Filipino American community organizations in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Matt was born at Evanston Hospital, June 27, 1969. The family would settle on the southwest side of Evanston near James Park. Matt was baptized at St. Nicholas Church in Evanston and would attend Dawes School, Martin Luther King, Jr. Laboratory School and Evanston Township High School, graduating in 1987. Matt would graduate from American University in Washington, DC in 1991 and DePaul University College of Law in 2009; and
WHEREAS, Matt would first participate in local politics volunteering for the Harold Washington campaign for Chicago Mayor in 1983. That summer, Matt would take the "L" from Evanston to attend Chicago City Council meetings during the contentious "Council Wars" times; and
WHEREAS, In 1984, Matt would volunteer at The Democratic Party of Evanston headquarters, going door to door and serving as a poll watcher for the Paul Simon for U.S. Senate campaign. Matt would participate in the YMCA Youth and Government program, become the Youth Mayor of Evanston in 1985 and Youth Governor of Illinois two years later; and
WHEREAS, Matt's first opportunity to work in government service came as a United States Congressional Page t...
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