[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5672]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO ARLENE MULDER

 Mr. KIRK. Mr. President, today I wish to honor Arlington 
Heights Mayor Arlene Mulder. After 20 years of service to the village 
as mayor, she is taking a well-deserved retirement.
  For 34 years, Mayor Mulder has been a tireless public servant--from 
park district commissioner to village trustee and eventually mayor. She 
has served on countless boards and commissions, but the title that I 
was most grateful for was that of ``friend''.
  I have known Arlene since the days I was a congressional staffer for 
Congressman John Porter. Arlene was a ``get things done'' mayor. It is 
why she was tapped by both Democrats and Republicans to partner on 
issues. When I first took office as Congressman for the 10th 
Congressional District, Arlene quickly became my go-to mayor for a host 
of issues.
  Whenever we wanted to schedule a townhall meeting in the northwest 
suburbs, Arlene was my first call. I remember during the health care 
debate we had a townhall meeting at the village building. When hundreds 
of citizens showed up and it was clear our room would not be large 
enough to hold everyone, Arlene immediately went into action and helped 
us have not one townhall meeting, but two back-to-back. Her 
resourcefulness ensured that we could communicate with twice the number 
of constituents on a very important issue.
  While we Senators may feel as if we have a full workload between 
constituent and committee meetings, votes and briefings, Arlene's 
membership in outside organizations is enough to make even the best 
multitasker dizzy. She has served on more than a dozen outside boards, 
commissions, and committees, many focused on the importance of 
transportation. As a member of Metra's board of directors, she became 
an advocate for thousands of suburban commuters who rely on commuter 
rail to get to their jobs. As chair of the O'Hare Noise Compatibility 
Commission, she led efforts to ensure a balance between the economic 
development role of O'Hare International Airport and the impact on 
surrounding communities.
  But what I will miss most is our time at the Arlington Heights 
Memorial Day Parade. Each year, we would honor a local veteran with a 
military award that was earned but never received. It was always a 
moving day, and while she will not be the mayor at future ceremonies, I 
know I will see her there for many years to come.
  While I am honored to serve as Arlene's Senator, I am more proud that 
Arlene was my mayor. Her dedication to the village and people of 
Arlington Heights will not be forgotten. I wish Arlene and her husband 
Al and their entire family all the best as she begins the next phase of 
her public service. Arlington Heights and the State of Illinois were 
lucky to have her. Thank you, Arlene for all that you have done for 
us.

                          ____________________