RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF MAY 2, 2019
Title
RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners Honoring Alderman Ameya Pawar
Body
WHEREAS, in 2011, Ameya Pawar was elected Alderman of Chicago’s 47th Ward. Alderman Pawar was the first Asian-American elected to the Chicago City Council; and
WHEREAS, while running for office, Alderman Pawar discussed the need for aldermen to legislate on city-wide issues in addition to ensuring city services are delivered efficiently; and
WHEREAS, Alderman Pawar championed many causes which lead to his sponsorship of eight ordinances and an amendment which were subsequently passed by the City Council. Those ordinances and amendment are: the Sweatshop-Free Procurement Ordinance; the Moratorium of Single Room Occupancy Conversions & Demolitions Ordinance; the Chicago Urban Agriculture Ordinance; the Tax Increment Financing Accountability Ordinance; one the county’s strongest anti-wage theft ordinances; an ordinance licensing debt collectors to prevent predatory debt collections methods; an ordinance to create an independent budget office for City Council, the Council Office of Financial Analysis; and an amendment to the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, Alderman Pawar was a member of the following City Council committees: the Committee on Committees, Rules & Ethics; the Committee on Economic, Capital & Technology Development; the Committee on Public Safety; the Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs & Recreation; and the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks & Building Standards; and
WHEREAS, Alderman Pawar established a K-12 neighborhood school community group called GROW47. The purpose of GROW47 is to organize residents, business owners and parents around neighborhood schools; and
WHEREAS, Alderman Pawar advocated for the rights of residents and business owners to participate in budgetary decisions. In 2012, participants began voting on the use of $1.3 million in annual infrastructure spending; and
WHEREAS, Alderman Pawar created numerous community councils to allow ward residents to discuss and provide information regarding various neighborhood issues. The councils include: the 47th Ward Council, Zoning Advisory Committee; the 47th Ward Senior Council; the 47th Ward Green Council; the 47th Ward Transportation Committee; and the Quality of Life Committee (public safety); and
WHEREAS, Alderman Pawar was appointed by Governor Patrick Quinn to serve on the Illinois Innovation Council where he worked with members of the council and the Governor to help jump-start innovation and job creation in Illinois. Alderman Pawar was also appointed by Gov. Quinn to serve on the State of Illinois Asian American Employment Plan Council; and
WHEREAS, prior to being elected to the Chicago City Council, Alderman Pawar was employed at Northwestern University in the Office of Emergency Management; and
WHEREAS, while working at Northwestern, Alderman Pawar and two of his classmates from the University of Chicago were awarded a contract from Taylor and Francis to write a textbook based upon their work in emergency management. The textbook elaborates on a model called “social intelligence” that Alderman Pawar developed with Charna Epstein and Scott Simon at the University of Chicago’s Master of Science and Threat Response Management program; and
WHEREAS, Alderman Pawar holds a Master of Science in Threat and Response Management from the University of Chicago and a Master of Public Administration from the Illinois Institute of Technology; and
WHEREAS, Alderman Pawar was a United States Department of State Scholar in 2009; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and staff, do hereby recognize Alderman Ameya Pawar’s dedicated service to the City of Chicago and express our gratitude and appreciation for his years of work on behalf of the taxpayers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and that a copy of same, suitably engrossed, be presented to Alderman Ameya Pawar.
Dated: May 2, 2019