093_HJ0006 LRB093 06298 KEF 06416 r 1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, E.J. "Zeke" Giorgi was first elected to the 3 House of Representatives in 1964, and he served in that 4 position until his passing in 1993; and 5 WHEREAS, From his first term through his service as "Dean 6 of the House", Zeke Giorgi served the people of this State 7 with great distinction, and he is remembered by his 8 colleagues on both sides of the aisle for providing 9 invaluable guidance and leadership on many important issues; 10 and 11 WHEREAS, During all the years that Zeke Giorgi served in 12 the House, he drove between Springfield and his Rockford 13 legislative district on U.S. Highway 51 and was a strong 14 advocate for Route 51 improvements, which were completed in 15 several stages; and 16 WHEREAS, Following the completion of improvements to U.S. 17 Route 51, the highway was designated as Interstate Highway 18 39; and 19 WHEREAS, Interstate Highway 39 provides an essential 20 transportation corridor between Rockford and Bloomington and 21 other parts of Central Illinois; and 22 WHEREAS, We wish to permanently commemorate Zeke Giorgi's 23 essential role in creating this critically needed highway and 24 his abiding impact on the lives of the people of Illinois; 25 therefore, be it 26 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 27 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE 28 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the portion of Interstate 29 Highway 39 commencing at its point of origin in Winnebago 30 County and ending with its intersection with Interstate Route 31 88 be designated the E.J. "Zeke" Giorgi Highway; and be it -2- LRB093 06298 KEF 06416 r 1 further 2 RESOLVED, That the Department of Transportation is 3 requested to erect appropriate plaques or signs giving notice 4 of the E.J. "Zeke" Giorgi Highway; and be it further 5 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution is 6 presented to: the Secretary of the U.S. Department of 7 Transportation; the Secretary of the Illinois Department of 8 Transportation; and the family of E.J. "Zeke" Giorgi.