HJ0085 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0085 LRB094 18911 HSS 54356 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, In 1956, a 2.5 square mile area of land in unincorporated Cook County was unwanted by neighboring communities; and

WHEREAS, Eighty-five pioneering residents living in this unincorporated area of Cook County were searching for municipal services, schools, and a good place to live the American dream; they refused to be beaten by others and decided to incorporate and become the Village of Rosemont in 1956; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Donald E. Stephens became the first elected (and only) mayor of the Village of Rosemont; and

WHEREAS, This new Village of Rosemont was adjacent to what would become, in the next 20 years, the world's busiest airport, O'Hare International Airport; and

WHEREAS, The residents had the vision and foresight to transform the Village of Rosemont into a center of commerce by building hospitality and entertainment facilities to support the international and domestic air travelers using the world's busiest airport; and

WHEREAS, Today, Rosemont's 4,224 residents and some 12,000 hospitality employees work together to serve meeting, convention, tradeshow, business, and entertainment customers from around the world; and

WHEREAS, Rosemont hosts an average of 50,000 visitors daily and owns and operates some of Chicagoland's finest meeting, entertainment, special event, and tradeshow facilities, including the Donald E. Stephens Convention and Conference Center, which is a top 10 meeting/convention/trade show venue, the Allstate Arena, and the Rosemont Theatre; and

WHEREAS, The Donald E. Stephens Convention and Conference Center is a 1,000,000 square foot convention center and may be the only one in the nation that returns revenue without any subsidies or room taxes; it hosts approximately 100 trade conventions and public shows a year and welcomes more than 1,000,000 delegates and attendees to public and private shows annually; and

WHEREAS, The Allstate Arena, formerly known as the Rosemont Horizon, has been recognized by PERFORMANCE MAGAZINE as both "Top Grossing Arena" and "Arena of the Year"; the venue hosts more than 150 events annually, attracting an average of 1,500,000 audience members to witness some of the world's top musical performers and family shows like the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus and Disney on Ice and serves as home of the DePaul Blue Demons basketball team (NCAA), Chicago Wolves hockey (AHL), and Chicago Rush arena football (AFL); and

WHEREAS, The beautiful plush, 4,400-seat Rosemont Theatre hosts lavish Broadway musicals, full-scale productions, and world-class entertainers including Jay Leno and the entire "Tonight Show", Ashley Judd, the Radio City Rockettes, a variety of family shows, and is home to the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra; and

WHEREAS, Rosemont is home to some of the world's most prestigious hoteliers, including Crowne Plaza, Hyatt, Marriott, Sheraton, Sofitel, Westin, Wyndham, and others, boasting more than 5,600 rooms; and

WHEREAS, Rosemont is home to some of Chicago's finest dining establishments, including Morton's, Nick's Fishmarket, Carlucci, Gibsons Steak House, and Harry Carey's; and

WHEREAS, The, tiny Village of Rosemont and its residents have generated billions of dollars for the Illinois economy and hold a strong vision for growing their convention and visitor business and service to the people of Illinois in the next 50 years; and

WHEREAS, Rosemont is kicking off its 50th anniversary year on Friday, January 20, 2006; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recognize the year of 2006 as "The Year of Rosemont" in Illinois and encourage public and private entities to congratulate Rosemont on its "50 years of Welcoming the World"; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Village of Rosemont as an expression of our esteem.