HR0263 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0263 LRB095 11771 MST 34653 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois would like to congratulate Sgt. 1st Class Randy Henk of Elgin on his homecoming from the front lines in Iraq; and

WHEREAS, Sgt. Henk was first introduced to the Elgin Courier News readers while stationed in Bosnia in 1996, where he wrote letters to the editor about his experiences there, and later as part of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo; and

WHEREAS, In January 2006, Sgt. Henk began to write about his experiences while stationed in Iraq in Ramadi and Hit; these stories were published on Saturdays under the heading "Letters to the Homefront"; and

WHEREAS, These letters brought home to readers the desperate and dangerous situation that soldiers faced every day; people gathered in small groups on Saturday nights to discuss that day's column; Sgt. Henk received so many emails from readers that he could not answer them all, and when a mission occupied so much of his time that he could not file a report that week, the Courier News was flooded with calls from readers concerned about his well-being; and

WHEREAS, Courier News readers in turn supported Sgt. Henk and his fellow troops by donating 25 grocery boxes of items and more than $1,000 to the cause; and

WHEREAS, A public reception for Sgt. Henk will be held on Sunday, April 1, at the Heritage Ballroom at The Centre of Elgin; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Sgt. 1st Class Randy Henk on his homecoming and thank him for his service to his country; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Sgt. 1st Class Randy Henk.