[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 180 (Tuesday, November 22, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING LARRY SUFFREDIN FOR A LIFETIME OF SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 22, 2022

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the many 
accomplishments of Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin. Larry 
Suffredin is a lot of things: he is a beloved elected official. An 
attorney. A United States Air Force veteran. A devoted husband, father, 
and grandfather. Commissioner Suffredin is the quintessential 
statesman, and I am proud to be able to call him a dear friend and 
neighbor.
  Larry Suffredin has deep roots in our state and our community. Born 
in Evergreen Park, Illinois, he is the oldest of eight children, the 
son of a Chicago Police Officer, and a graduate of Loyola University 
Chicago.
  Larry has a long history of service. While in law school at 
Georgetown University in Washington D.C., he joined the United States 
Department of Justice, and then went on to serve as an officer in the 
United States Air Force in the early 1970's. Upon being discharged from 
the armed forces, Larry worked as an Assistant Public Defender before 
moving on to other pursuits. Larry saw a lot of success as a lawyer. 
Practicing law for almost fifty years, he is a partner at Shefsky & 
Froelich and has had the opportunity to argue cases before the Illinois 
Appellate Court, the United States Court of Appeals, and the United 
States Supreme Court.
  In 2002, Larry Suffredin was elected to serve as a member of the Cook 
County Board of Commissioners representing the 13th District. During 
his tenure, Larry's depth of knowledge and compassion made him an 
effective and passionate defender of Cook County residents and a mentor 
to many. Even in retirement, I am certain many will continue to seek 
his counsel.
  Larry has a long list of accomplishments from his time spent as a 
Cook County Commissioner. A longtime advocate for gun safety reform, he 
helped pass Cook County's Assault Weapons Ban. He saved the old County 
Hospital Building from demolition and created the successful 
Independent Health and Hospital Board, and was a leader in raising the 
minimum wage. Larry played a key role in establishing Cook County's 
Office of the Independent Inspector General and created an Eviction and 
Mortgage Foreclosures Court protocol to protect people's homes.
  As a Forest Preserve Commissioner, he has a whole other list! He 
established the New Century Conservation Council and worked hard to 
expand the Forest Preserve's land restoration initiatives and their use 
of trained volunteers. Larry was a driving force behind successful 
efforts to require children to wear bike helmets as they made use of 
this amazing local resource.
  These are only a sampling of Commissioner Suffredin's successful 
efforts over the last twenty years. However, these accomplishments will 
have impacts on residents for many decades ahead. His leadership has 
made Cook County a better place for those who live here.
  On behalf of the residents of the 9th Congressional District of 
Illinois, I thank Larry for so many years of dedicated and effective 
leadership on behalf of our community. I know his family--Gloria, Tom, 
Elizabeth, and their families--are excited to spend more time with him 
in the years ahead. I hope that he continues to answer my calls when I 
am the one calling for his counsel, and I wish him nothing but the very 
best moving forward.

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