WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

SR 278

Commending Queen Street Baptist Church.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Angelia Graves

GA and IL honor public service: Georgia names Dr. Mike Looney 2025 Superintendent of the Year; Illinois memorializes Sgt. Andrew J. Faught, offers condolences to his family.

Bill text as passed Senate (SR278ER)
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SR 278

Summary — SR 278 (Resolution Adopted)

Note on source material: the uploaded text appears to contain two distinct honorary resolutions merged into one file. One is a Georgia Senate resolution recognizing Dr. Mike Looney as Georgia’s 2025 Superintendent of the Year. The other is an Illinois Senate memorial resolution for Sgt. Andrew John “Drew” Faught. Both are purely honorary/resolution texts (non‑binding). This summary treats each separately and then summarizes procedural status.

A. Georgia Senate Resolution — Recognizing Dr. Mike Looney

  • Purpose: Officially recognize and commend Dr. Mike Looney as Georgia’s 2025 Superintendent of the Year and honor his service to Fulton County Schools.
  • Key facts and provisions:
    • Dr. Looney has served as superintendent of Fulton County Schools since June 2019, overseeing more than 87,000 students in 104 schools (the state’s fourth‑largest district).
    • Highlights his strategic initiatives: dropout prevention, literacy, expansion of Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE), STEAM programming, middle school reform, career readiness and leadership development for students and educators.
    • Notes his fiscal stewardship: maintaining the district’s AAA credit rating and prioritizing classroom and student program investments.
    • Cites his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic (managed Georgia’s first school-related case) and the post‑pandemic “Bridge to Success” three‑year plan that targeted learning loss — resulting in students surpassing pre-pandemic reading and math levels and achieving a record 90.7% graduation rate in 2023.
    • Awards and roles: Georgia’s 2025 Superintendent of the Year; previously Tennessee Superintendent of the Year (2015); represents the district on the Governor’s Advisory Board, Development Authority of Fulton County Board of Directors, and Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce.
  • Impact / Who’s affected:
    • Honorary recognition for Dr. Looney and positive publicity for Fulton County Schools and associated community partners.
  • Action requested: directs the Secretary of the Senate to provide an appropriate copy of the resolution to Dr. Looney.
  • Sponsors (Georgia): Senators Sonya Halpern (39th), RaShaun Kemp (38th), John Albers (56th), Shawn Still (48th), Nan Orrock (36th) and others (full sponsor list provided in file).

B. Illinois Senate Memorial Resolution — Sgt. Andrew John “Drew” Faught

  • Purpose: Express condolences and mourn the passing of Sgt. Andrew John “Drew” Faught.
  • Key facts and provisions:
    • Sgt. Faught (b. Feb 22, 1997, Joliet) died April 8, 2024.
    • Raised in Morris; graduated Morris Community High School in 2014.
    • Served ~6 years with the Illinois Department of Corrections (Pontiac Correctional Center), most recently as a member of the Tactical Response Team.
    • Personal notes: active in football and wrestling; enjoyed weightlifting; described as a devoted son, brother and uncle.
    • Survivors and predecessors: the text lists parents, siblings, grandparents, and multiple extended family members (some names are provided; the source file contains partially fragmented lists).
  • Impact / Who’s affected:
    • Honorary expression of sympathy to Sgt. Faught’s family, friends, colleagues and community.
  • Action requested: directs that a suitable copy of the resolution be presented to Sgt. Faught’s family.

Procedural / Timeline Notes (as provided)

  • Introduced: March 14, 2025 (per header).
  • Listed legislative actions include: Senate Read & Adopted (variously dated Feb 27, Mar 18, 2025), Read & Adopted and Reported Enrolled (Mar 18, 2025), adopted and filed in May 2025 (May 6–8). The file also indicates “Co‑Sponsor All Senators” and referral to the Resolutions Consent Calendar (May 6, 2025).
  • Classification: Resolution — honorary/commendation/memorial (non‑binding).

If you want, I can:
- Produce a single consolidated one‑page handout for public distribution;
- Extract and clean the full list of named survivors from the memorial resolution; or
- Verify which state chamber each resolution was formally adopted in and reconcile the procedural dates.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.