[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 82 (Wednesday, June 3, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    IN MEMORY OF TERRENCE L. BARNICH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 3, 2009

  Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Terrence 
L. Barnich. Terry served as Chairman of the Illinois Commerce 
Commission (ICC) in the early nineties, and spent the last two years as 
Deputy Director of the Iraq Transition Assistance Office in Baghdad. 
Terry died on Memorial Day after his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb 
on the outskirts of Fallujah.
  Terry was appointed Chairman of the ICC by Gov. Jim Thompson in 1989, 
serving for three years before joining the private sector. In 2007 he 
took a leave of absence from his job as CEO of Paradigm Resources Group 
to spend a year working with the State Department in Baghdad. After 
that year, Terry volunteered to stay in Iraq to continue his work 
helping the Iraqis build modern public utility systems. He embodied the 
American commitment to the people of Iraq, and his work was helping us 
fulfill that commitment.
  Terry died after inspecting a new wastewater treatment facility that 
will provide essential services to Fallujah and Anbar Province. His 
patriotism and love of his work are evident in a quote he gave a 
Chicago newspaper shortly after he arrived in Baghdad. He said:
  ``To those back home who say the Iraqi experience has made the Iraqis 
unready or incapable for democracy, I say come work with me. I deal 
with Iraqis who daily brave physical hardship, violence and threats of 
violence to make their contribution to building a government that 
deserves the consent of the governed.''
  Funeral services were held today in Chicago, and I hope my colleagues 
will join me in sending our condolences to Terry's family as we 
remember his dedication to public service.

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