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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate the businesses
4 that have been charter members of the Illinois Retail Merchants
5 Association all of its first 50 years, as well as David Vite,
6 President and CEO of IRMA, and his staff as they celebrate the
7 Association's 50th anniversary; and
 
8     WHEREAS, The Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA)
9 is proud to mark a half century of service to the retail
10 industry and the State of Illinois; in February of 1957 the
11 Illinois Chain Store Council, the Illinois Retail Federation of
12 Retail Associations, and the Chicago Retail Merchants
13 Association joined forces under the collective umbrella of a
14 new organization known as the Illinois Retail Merchants
15 Association; and
 
16     WHEREAS, The new group was to maintain a balance between
17 independent businesses and chains and between upstate and
18 downstate, while creating an environment in which retailers
19 could operate efficiently; IRMA represents this balance and
20 continues to use this spectrum of opinion to fairly represent
21 the broad interests of food, drug and general merchandise
22 retailers of all sizes on public policy issues, program
23 contents, and publications; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, With a presence in both Chicago and Springfield,
2 IRMA has represented retailing on thousands of legislative
3 issues at both State and local levels; combining other aspects
4 of its predecessor organizations, IRMA also developed strong
5 member service and educational programs; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Since its inception, the Association has offered
7 opportunities from group insurance to gas and electric buying,
8 harnessing the collective buying power of merchants across the
9 State; education programs have included annual public service
10 campaigns against shoplifting, and seminars from sales
11 training to Organized Retail Theft; and
 
12     WHEREAS, The strength of IRMA has rested in the active
13 interest and participation of its members; the Association
14 currently represents 23,000 stores of all sizes and merchandise
15 lines across the State; of these retail companies, 26 have
16 supported IRMA throughout all of its first 50 years; these
17 charter retail members are: Arndt's, Newton; Baum's, Morris;
18 Black & Co., Decatur; The Brown Drug Company, Quincy; Carson
19 Pirie Scott; Cooper's Diamond Jewelers, Sycamore; The Fell
20 Company, Winnetka; George Keller & Sons Co., Quincy; Good's
21 Furniture House, Inc., Kewanee; Guzzardo's, Inc., Kewanee;
22 Hams Pharmacy, Arlington Heights; Hendrick's Home Furnishings,
23 Virden; House of Color, Palm Heights; Jewel-Osco; J.C. Penny;

 

 

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1 Kirlin's Hallmark, Quincy; K -Mart; Marshall Fields (Macy's
2 Co); Quinn's Jewelry, Rochelle; Royalty's, Carthage;
3 Schwenker-Mougin, Moline; Sears; Simon Jewelers Inc.,
4 Collinsville; Walgreen Co; Watseka Quality Supermarket,
5 Watseka; and Ziegler's Ace Hardware, Elgin; and
 
6     WHEREAS, The Illinois Retail Merchants Association will
7 recognize these charter retail members during its 50th
8 Anniversary Luncheon on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007 at the Palmer
9 House Hilton, Chicago; therefore, be it
 
10     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
12 congratulate the businesses that have been charter members of
13 the Illinois Retail Merchants Association for the entirety of
14 the Association, and we congratulate David Vite, President and
15 CEO of IRMA, and his staff on the golden anniversary of the
16 Illinois Retail Merchants Association; and be it further
 
17     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to David Vite, President and CEO of the Illinois
19 Retail Merchants Association, as a symbol of our respect and
20 admiration.