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1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 8
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Joint Resolution 8 by
3 replacing lines 2 through 31 on page 1 and all of pages 2 and
4 3 with the following:
5 "WHEREAS, The Veterans Classic Sports Foundation is
6 working to return service academy football to the City of
7 Chicago; and
8 WHEREAS, The football teams of the United States Naval
9 Academy at Annapolis and the United States Military Academy
10 at West Point meet annually for what is simply known as the
11 Army/Navy football game; and
12 WHEREAS, The Army/Navy football rivalry, which began in
13 1890 with a game played at West Point in which Navy beat Army
14 by a score of 24-0, has become and has continued to be one of
15 the greatest rivalries in American sports history; and
16 WHEREAS, At the 103rd and most recent Army/Navy football
17 game, which took place December 7, 2002 at Giants Stadium in
18 East Rutherford, New Jersey, over 78,000 fans attended the
19 event in which Navy beat Army by a score of 58-12; and
20 WHEREAS, Soldier Field, which was opened officially on
21 October 9, 1924 as a monument to American soldiers who have
22 died in wars, was officially dedicated on November 27, 1926
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1 during the 29th meeting of the Army and Navy football teams
2 at which over 100,000 fans were in attendance to see the game
3 which ended in a 21-21 tie for which Navy was awarded the
4 national championship; and
5 WHEREAS, The renovation of Soldier Field, with seating
6 for over 63,000 fans, located in the heart of downtown
7 Chicago will be complete in time for the 110th meeting of the
8 Army and Navy football teams in 2009; and
9 WHEREAS, Chicago is the nation's highway and air hub due
10 to its central location in the United States with easy access
11 for fans and tourists from all corners of our nation and due
12 to the two major airports, O'Hare and Midway, located within
13 mere miles of Soldier Field, that serve almost 100 million
14 passengers annually using over 40 airlines making over 3,300
15 flights to and from Chicago each day; and
16 WHEREAS, Downtown Chicago is home to over 28,000 hotel
17 rooms and thousands of world-class restaurants, all of which
18 either neighbor or are within walking distance of Michigan
19 Avenue and its world-famous shopping opportunities, Navy Pier
20 and its nightly entertainment, and the Sears Tower which is
21 one of the world's tallest skyscrapers; and
22 WHEREAS, The Veterans Classic Sports Foundation is
23 focused on the possibility of hosting an Army/Air Force game
24 or Navy/Air Force game in 2004 and beyond, and establishing
25 an annual college football game between a service academy and
26 a local college football team, in addition to hosting a
27 possible Army/Navy football contest in 2009; and
28 WHEREAS, Illinois is home to approximately 950,000
29 military veterans, tens of thousands of men and women who
30 serve in our nation's armed forces and the Illinois National
31 Guard, and over 2,600 graduates of the United States Naval,
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1 Air Force, and Military Academies, 949 of whom attended the
2 Naval Academy, 854 of whom attended the Military Academy, and
3 833 of whom attended the Air Force Academy, whose hard work,
4 dedication, and sacrifice to the United States and the State
5 of Illinois would make it a pleasure to honor them by hosting
6 future football contests involving their respective teams;
7 therefore, be it
8 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
9 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
10 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the elected representatives of
11 the House of Representatives and Senate, on behalf of the
12 City of Chicago and the entire State of Illinois,
13 respectfully request the honor to host the 110th and
14 subsequent meetings of the football teams of Army and Navy,
15 and the honor to host the cadets of both academies in
16 addition to the hundreds of thousands of fans, families,
17 supporters of both teams and Academies; and be it further
18 RESOLVED, That the members of the House and Senate are
19 committed to assisting the Veterans Classic Sports Foundation
20 and the City of Chicago to meet any challenge and cover any
21 expense necessary to return service academy football to
22 Soldier Field and to allow the 110th and subsequent meetings
23 of the Army and Navy football teams to be held in the State
24 of Illinois; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
26 furnished to the men and women of the United States Naval
27 Academy at Annapolis and the United States Military Academy
28 at West Point, the United States Air Force Academy at
29 Colorado Springs, the Veterans Classic Sports Foundation, the
30 City of Chicago, and each member of the Illinois
31 Congressional delegation.".