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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Approximately 6.5 million people in the United | ||||||
3 | States and 1% of the global population have an intellectual | ||||||
4 | disability; and
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5 | WHEREAS, In the 1950s and early 1960s, Eunice Kennedy | ||||||
6 | Shriver saw how unjustly and unfairly people with intellectual | ||||||
7 | disabilities were treated and saw that many children with | ||||||
8 | intellectual disabilities didn't even have a place to play; | ||||||
9 | deciding to take action, she held a summer day camp for young | ||||||
10 | people with intellectual disabilities in her backyard in order | ||||||
11 | to learn what these children could do in sports and other | ||||||
12 | activities and not dwell on what they could not do; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Throughout the 1960s, Eunice Kennedy Shriver | ||||||
14 | continued her pioneering work, both as the driving force behind | ||||||
15 | President John F. Kennedy's White House panel on people with | ||||||
16 | intellectual disabilities and as the director of the Joseph P. | ||||||
17 | Kennedy, Jr. Foundation; her vision and drive for justice | ||||||
18 | eventually grew into the Special Olympics movement; and
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19 | WHEREAS, The Special Olympics strives to create a better | ||||||
20 | world by fostering the acceptance and inclusion of all people; | ||||||
21 | through the power of sports, people with intellectual | ||||||
22 | disabilities discover new strengths and abilities, skills, and |
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1 | success and find joy, confidence and fulfillment on the playing | ||||||
2 | field and in life; and
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3 | WHEREAS, The Special Olympics hosts a wide range of | ||||||
4 | training sessions, competitions, health screenings, and | ||||||
5 | fund-raising events for those with intellectual disabilities; | ||||||
6 | the organization also creates opportunities for families, | ||||||
7 | community members, local leaders, businesses, law enforcement, | ||||||
8 | celebrities, dignitaries, and others to band together to change | ||||||
9 | attitudes and support athletes; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Anne McGlone Burke, then a Chicago Park District | ||||||
11 | instructor at West Pullman Park, received support from Mayor | ||||||
12 | Richard J. Daley to pursue her vision to organize an event | ||||||
13 | showcasing the abilities of her athletes; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, On July 19-20, 1968, the first International | ||||||
15 | Special Olympics Summer Games were held at Soldier Field in | ||||||
16 | Chicago; a thousand people with intellectual disabilities from | ||||||
17 | 26 U.S. states and Canada competed in track and field and | ||||||
18 | swimming; and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, The Special Olympics mission of empowering those | ||||||
20 | with intellectual disabilities though sport remains as vital | ||||||
21 | today as it did when the movement was founded; the athletes, | ||||||
22 | administration, and countless volunteers of the Special |
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1 | Olympics are worthy of the greatest respect; therefore, be it
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2 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
3 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
4 | we designate July of 2014 as Special Olympics Month in the | ||||||
5 | State of Illinois in honor of this great organization and its | ||||||
6 | goals; and be it further
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7 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
8 | presented to the Special Olympics as a symbol of our esteem and | ||||||
9 | respect.
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