HR0808 LRB094 16963 HSS 52243 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, By the middle of January of 2006, a familiar face
3 in the Statehouse will take a long-deserved break and his voice
4 will be missing from the airwaves; Ben Kiningham, Springfield
5 Bureau Chief for the Illinois Radio Network, has announced his
6 retirement; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Mr. Kiningham was born in Fort Riley, Kansas, in
8 1942; he graduated from Springfield High School in 1960 and
9 attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he
10 studied radio-TV and started his broadcasting career as a
11 volunteer at WSIU; and
 
12     WHEREAS, He enlisted in the military in late 1964, serving
13 in the Illinois Air National Guard; some years later, he served
14 as public affairs staff officer for the 183rd Tactical Fighter
15 Group; he retired from the 183rd with the rank of lieutenant
16 colonel after 22 years in the military; and
 
17     WHEREAS, He began his broadcast career in Springfield at
18 WTAX, where he was hired on January 24, 1966; since 1974, when
19 he succeeded Bill Miller as Statehouse Bureau Chief for the
20 Capital Information Bureau, he has kept radio listeners
21 apprised of developments in Illinois government and politics;
22 and
 
23     WHEREAS, He is past president of the Illinois News
24 Broadcasters Association (INBA) and the Illinois Legislative
25 Correspondents Association; he received a lifetime achievement
26 award from the INBA and has received several news awards from
27 media organizations, including the AP, UPI, and the National
28 Association of State Radio Networks; in 2004, he was named
29 alumnus of the year by the radio-televsion department at SIU-C;
30 and
 

 

 

HR0808 - 2 - LRB094 16963 HSS 52243 r

1     WHEREAS, His affiliations stretch to the private sector,
2 and he is a past chair of the American Lung Association
3 Christmas Seal campaign downstate and a former elder in Central
4 Presbyterian Church in Petersburg; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Mr. Kiningham has spent more than 10 years hosting
6 "CapitolView with Ben Kiningham", a public affairs program,
7 with a panel of reporters discussing the latest political
8 events in the State; and
 
9     WHEREAS, During his retirement, he plans to stay active in
10 his hobbies of amateur radio and photography, and he and his
11 wife, Beth, hope to travel, including visits to their children
12 in Wisconsin and Arizona; therefore, be it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
15 on the occasion of his retirement, we congratulate Mr. Ben
16 Kiningham, who has exemplified the highest ideals of journalism
17 and community responsibility and whose voice will truly be
18 missed; and be it further
 
19     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20 presented to Mr. Kiningham with our sincerest best wishes for
21 his future.