[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 13, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S5665]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO MARGARET HOULIHAN SMITH

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I want to congratulate a former 
member of my Senate staff, Margaret Houlihan Smith. Margaret served as 
my Chicago director and previously as a senior member of my 1996 
campaign team. Since 2004, Margaret has served as director of corporate 
and government affairs for United Airlines, responsible for advancing 
its legislative objectives and protecting its commercial interests in 
Illinois.
  Next week, Margaret is receiving the Rerum Novarum Award at St. 
Joseph College Seminary in Chicago. The Rerum Novarum Award, or Rights 
and Duties of Capital and Labor, is named after an encyclical written 
by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 that addressed issues facing the working 
class. Specifically, Rerum Novarum's fundamental principles are respect 
for the dignity of every person and their labor, the right to organize 
and belong to a union, and the right to a living wage.
  Every year, on behalf of St. Joseph College Seminary, the Seminary 
Salutes Committee honors men and women who have supported these ideals 
in the Chicagoland area. Well, I want to tell you that the committee 
couldn't have made a better choice than Margaret Houlihan Smith.
  Margaret learned the importance of these values and public service 
from her father, Dan Houlihan. Known as Dan-the-man to his 
constituents--he represented the South Side of Chicago--the Beverly 
neighborhood--in the Illinois House of Representatives. Public service 
was in Margaret's blood.
  So it is no surprise that, after graduating from St. Mary's College 
in Winona, MN, Margaret started right at the top in Illinois politics 
and began working for Michael Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of 
Representatives. In 1995, she helped run my first Senate campaign. And 
in 1996, Margaret agreed to be the director of my Chicago office. Her 
boundless energy, quick wit, and great judgment made her an outstanding 
member of my staff and set a high bar for those that followed.
  One day, while working in my Chicago office, Margaret lost her voice. 
When she tried to talk, she croaked like a frog. Her doctor urged her 
to stop talking for about a week. But anyone that knows Margaret knows 
this would be a challenge. You see, Margaret is the definition of an 
Irish lass: a wonderful sense of humor and, above all, a great 
storyteller--so great that she never stops telling stories. And let me 
assure you, her doctor's urgings didn't stop her. But I couldn't be 
more proud that Margaret is still out there sharing stories and lending 
her voice to the issues that matter in her community.
  Margaret is driven by a willingness to offer a helping hand and is 
one of the most generous people I have had the pleasure to know. In her 
spare time, she serves on the boards of Misericordia Heart of Mercy, 
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Irish Fellowship of 
Chicago, the Civic Federation, and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce 
PAC Board. If that wasn't enough, Margaret is also a founding member of 
the Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership.
  She is an extraordinarily accomplished professional, but it is her 
caring heart that makes Margaret such a deserving recipient of this 
award. For more than a decade, Margaret has served on the Seminary 
Salutes Committee, tirelessly advocating for the St. Joseph College 
Seminary. Year after year, she works to raise money and vocation 
awareness in Chicagoland. And because of her efforts, the Seminary 
Salutes annual fundraising event, which benefits the scholarship 
program for low-income students, continues to be a success. I am 
honored to congratulate her on all the work she has done for St. Joseph 
College Seminary.
  Despite her many achievements, her proudest accomplishment is her 
family. Never forgetting where she comes from--a trait her father and 
his beloved wife of 50 years, Mary Alice Houlihan, instilled in her--
Margaret lives in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago with her husband, 
Jim, and their two children: 8-year-old son Jack and 6-year-old 
daughter Maeve.
  Let me close with this: Margaret's father used to have a favorite 
saying--``He has a big hat size.'' It was Dan's way to describe someone 
who was full of themselves. Well, Margaret has never forgotten those 
words and always stayed humble. I couldn't be more proud of the work 
she has done and the person she has become. And although her father is 
no longer with us, I know he feels the same way.
  Congratulations, Margaret, on a well-deserved honor.

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