HR1009 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1009 LRB102 29778 MST 41849 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to recognize the life of Chicago news columnist Ray Hanania; and

WHEREAS, Ray Hanania was born into a Christian Palestinian Arab American family in Chicago, the son of immigrants; his mother, Georgette, was born in Bethlehem and lived adjacent to the Church of the Nativity, where relatives continue to serve, and his father, George, was born in Jerusalem; and

WHEREAS, Ray Hanania was raised in Chicago and attended Chicago Public Schools; he attended Warren Elementary School, Bowen High School, Bogan High School, and Little Flower School and graduated from Reavis High School; and

WHEREAS, Ray Hanania followed the example of his father, who served in the OSS, his Uncle Moses, who served on a battleship during World War II, and his brother, John, who served in the U.S. Marines; in 1972, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served at an F-111 fighter base stateside during the Vietnam War; he was honorably discharged and served 10 years in the Illinois Air National Guard in Peoria; and

WHEREAS, Although his parents wanted him to be a doctor like many of his relatives, Ray Hanania studied politics under the late Professor Milton Rakove at the University of Illinois at Circle Campus; in his final semester in 1977, he was hired by the Southtown Economist as a reporter, where he began covering Chicago City Hall; in 1985, he was hired by the Chicago Sun-Times; and

WHEREAS, Ray Hanania interviewed Richard J. Daley before his death and covered the administrations of Michael A. Bilandic, Jane M. Byrne, Harold Washington, Eugene Sawyer, and Richard M. Daley; he is the recipient of four Peter Lisagor Awards, two Stick-O-Type Awards, and the Sigma Delta Chi National Writing Award in 2009; he was named Best Ethnic American Columnist in America (2006-2007); his columns were distributed by Creators Syndicate; and

WHEREAS, Ray Hanania hosted a live radio show on WLS-AM for 10 years; he is a longtime member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the author of several books, including Arabs of Chicagoland; and

WHEREAS, As an Arab American, Ray Hanania has dedicated his life to pursuing Middle East peace between Israelis and Palestinians and served as National President of the Palestinian American Congress in 1995, advocating for the Rabin-Arafat peace accords; and

WHEREAS, After September 11, 2001, Ray Hanania launched the Israeli Palestinian Comedy Tour with the motto "If we can laugh together, we can live together," being the first Palestinian to perform live comedy with Israelis throughout Israel, the West Bank, and Dublin, and across the U.S.; he continues to serve the community on the Arab American Democratic Club and Arab American Chamber of Commerce; and

WHEREAS, Ray Hanania balances his life working as a media consultant for government clients and writes political analysis for the Southwest News Newspaper Group and SuburbanChicagoland.com; he writes on Middle East issues for the Arab News Newspaper distributed in in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, France, and Japan and online in Britain and the U.S.; and

WHEREAS, Loved and hated like any good columnist because of his political writings, Ray Hanania pursues truth regardless of politics in the U.S. or the Middle East; he is dedicated to peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs, hosting and speaking about and documenting Arab American heritage; and

WHEREAS, Ray Hanania lives in Orland Park with his wife, Alison, and son, Aaron, who are Jewish, and has a daughter, Carolyn, from a previous marriage, and two grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, Ray Hanania's greatest enjoyment was to watch Arabs and Jews, Palestinians and Israelis, dancing and laughing together at his son's Bar Mitzvah in 2014, proving that if Arabs and Jews can get along, Democrats and Republicans can get along, too; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the life of Chicago news columnist Ray Hanania; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Ray Hanania as a symbol of our respect and esteem.