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HR1566 |
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LRB094 22171 MST 60830 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the |
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| State of Illinois are pleased to announce the approval of a |
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| resolution by the United States House of Representatives naming |
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| the post office in Clinton in honor of Illini legend Gene |
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| Vance; and
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| WHEREAS, The resolution, sponsored by U.S. Representative |
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| Timothy V. Johnson, was signed into law by President Bush on |
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| October 13, 2006; and
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| WHEREAS, A native of Clinton, Gene Vance was a member of |
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| the 1942-43 University of Illinois basketball team known as |
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| "The Whiz Kids"; he is the only surviving member of this team |
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| that went 17-1 and won their second straight Big Ten conference |
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| title; upon the drafting of three of "The Whiz Kids" by the |
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| U.S. Army to serve in World War II, the team decided that if |
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| they could not compete together, they would not compete at all; |
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| and
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| WHEREAS, In June of 1943, Gene joined the infantry and |
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| served 16 months in Europe until the end of World War II; upon |
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| returning home, he played for Chicago, Tri-Cities, and |
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| Milwaukee in the National Basketball Association; his |
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| basketball career was again interrupted when he was called to |
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| duty in Korea in 1952; and
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| WHEREAS, Gene became the University of Illinois athletic |
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| director in 1967 and served until 1972; he completed his career |
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| in service to the University of Illinois Foundation; he was |
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| named to the University of Illinois Basketball's All-Century |
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| Team in 2005, and he is the oldest member of the 20-member |
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| unit; and
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| WHEREAS, Gene Vance remains a legend in Clinton, as well as |