Full Text of HR0315 94th General Assembly
HR0315 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, On April 11, 2005, the State of Illinois installed | 3 |
| signs at the Number 84 (Lawrence Avenue) eastbound exits of | 4 |
| I-90 commonly known as the John F. Kennedy Expressway, marking | 5 |
| the direction of the Korea Town area of the Albany Park | 6 |
| neighborhood; and
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| WHEREAS, Like so many other ethnic area designations | 8 |
| throughout the City of Chicago, Korea Town is anchored by a | 9 |
| commercial street where businesses that both serve and showcase | 10 |
| a particular ethnicity have thrived; Lawrence Avenue from | 11 |
| California Avenue on the east of Kennedy Expressway became such | 12 |
| a street for Chicago's Korean immigrant population; and
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| WHEREAS, The Koreans played a large role in that | 14 |
| neighborhood's revitalization; on October 30, 1992, Lawrence | 15 |
| Avenue between Western Avenue on the east and Pulaski Road on | 16 |
| the west received the honorary street name of "Seoul Drive" due | 17 |
| to the collection of Korean-owned shops and business in the | 18 |
| area; at that time, approximately 40% of the businesses in that | 19 |
| neighborhood were Korean-owned; and
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| WHEREAS, In addition to uplifting civic pride through | 21 |
| upgrading a neighborhood in decline, Koreans from Korea Town | 22 |
| have made significant contributions to their adopted nation; | 23 |
| United States Marine Lance Corporal Woon Hyuk Kim is a | 24 |
| remarkable example; born on March 26, 1982, in Seoul, South | 25 |
| Korea, he and his parents immigrated to Chicago a year later; | 26 |
| he grew up near the U.S. Marine Headquarters Drill Center on | 27 |
| Lawrence Avenue, where at the time the Korean population was | 28 |
| burgeoning; growing up, it seemed to him that his parents were | 29 |
| always at work; as a kindergartner, he had a key necklace that | 30 |
| he wore so he could let himself in after school, thus making | 31 |
| him very independent at a young age; he joined the U.S. Marine | 32 |
| Corps to live out that boot camp experience and get some |
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HR0315 |
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| tuition assistance; today, he is stationed in Iraq; he says he | 2 |
| is grateful for the adventure God has put him through, but can | 3 |
| not wait to get back home to resume his civilian life; and
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| WHEREAS, It is just such history that has led to the | 5 |
| erection of a designation marker indicating the way to Korea | 6 |
| Town by traveling east down Seoul Drive; in addition to the | 7 |
| merchants and food stores, many Korean restaurants, bars, and | 8 |
| nightclubs can be found in Korea Town; the area boasts a large | 9 |
| concentration of Korean television and radio stations along | 10 |
| with newspaper and magazine publication offices; such | 11 |
| businesses are a growing industry, catering to a growing number | 12 |
| of Korean immigrants; in 2002, there were eleven major Korean | 13 |
| mass media companies targeting Korean immigrants throughout | 14 |
| Chicago; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 16 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 17 |
| we recognize the rich cultural heritage of the area of Chicago | 18 |
| known as Korea Town, and we honor the many contributions of | 19 |
| Chicago's Korean community; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 |
| presented to Kil Young Kim, President of the Korean American | 22 |
| Association of Chicago.
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