HR0487 LRB094 12491 CSA 46987 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Charles Richards of Palos Heights, publisher of
3 The Regional News and The Reporter, is retiring after a long
4 and distinguished career; and
 
5     WHEREAS, The Regional News was founded in 1941 by Carl
6 Richards, Charles' father, as the Palos Regional; Charles
7 Richards began working at the newspaper in high school and, in
8 1965, after attending journalism school at the University of
9 Missouri in Columbia and another year in graduate school taking
10 business courses, he returned to work for the Regional News;
11 and
 
12     WHEREAS, He came up through the ranks in the shop and later
13 as a reporter, photographer, editor, ad manager, and
14 circulation manager; in 1967, he led the conversion from
15 letterpress to offset; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Charles Richards bought the Regional from his
17 father in 1970; in 1983, the paper's name was changed to The
18 Regional News because of the addition of news and advertising
19 matter from Orland Park; today, The Regional News has
20 approximately 18,000 readers, an all-time high; it has won 600
21 awards for excellence, including being named Best Small Weekly
22 in Illinois five times by the Illinois Press Association; and
 
23     WHEREAS, The Reporter Newspaper was founded in 1960 to
24 serve the Worth, Chicago Ridge, Palos Hills, and Hickory Hills
25 area; in 1983, it expanded into Oak Lawn and Evergreen Park; in
26 1986, Charles Richards purchased The Reporter and most of the
27 existing staff was retained, as was the office in Chicago
28 Ridge; a year later, the newspaper office was moved to Palos
29 Heights; The Reporter currently publishes one edition for Palos
30 Hills and Hickory Hills, another for Worth and Chicago Ridge,
31 and a third for Oak Lawn and Evergreen Park; The Reporter's

 

 

HR0487 - 2 - LRB094 12491 CSA 46987 r

1 paid circulation is now over 18,000 per issue; and
 
2     WHEREAS, During his career as publisher, Charles Richards
3 followed in his father's footsteps by serving two terms as the
4 President of the Palos Chamber of Commerce; he was also elected
5 President of the Cook County Suburban Publishers Association
6 and has been serving for many years as treasurer of that group;
7 he also served a term on the Board of The Calumet Ben Franklin
8 Club; therefore, be it
 
9     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
10 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
11 we commend Charles Richards on his fulfilling journalism career
12 and community service and wish him all the best in his
13 retirement and future endeavors; and be it further
 
14     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15 presented to Charles Richards as an expression of our esteem.