Full Text of HR1040 93rd General Assembly
HR1040 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR1040 |
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LRB093 22467 KEF 51997 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives wish to recognize Kevin Bracken of Chicago, a | 4 |
| member of the 2000 United States Greco-Roman wrestling Olympic | 5 |
| team, as he retires from his wrestling career; and
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| WHEREAS, Kevin's wrestling career began in the seventh | 7 |
| grade on the south side of Chicago; his father, Bill, and his | 8 |
| brother, Billy, were major influences on his decision to begin | 9 |
| wrestling; in his second year of wrestling, he qualified for | 10 |
| the Kids State Tournament; and
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| WHEREAS, He attended St. Laurence High School in Burbank, a | 12 |
| school with a strong tradition in wrestling and other sports; | 13 |
| in his junior year he won Junior National Championships in | 14 |
| Greco-Roman Wrestling; Kevin led the St. Laurence Vikings to | 15 |
| their first wrestling State Championship as team captain and | 16 |
| most valuable wrestler his senior year; and
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| WHEREAS, Kevin competed for Illinois State University from | 18 |
| 1991 to 1995, where he broke the school's record for career | 19 |
| wins; he was the youngest competitor in the 1992 Olympic Trials | 20 |
| and took fourth place; after attending the 1996 Olympics as an | 21 |
| alternate, he accepted the position of top assistant coach at | 22 |
| Northern Illinois University, where he helped coach two-time | 23 |
| All-American wrestler Jeremy Goeden, the school's first | 24 |
| All-American in 22 years; and
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| WHEREAS, From 1996 to 2003, Kevin was a member of Team USA, | 26 |
| which consists of the top three individuals at each weight | 27 |
| class; as a member of this team, he visited 22 countries and | 28 |
| wrestled in over 50 international matches; one of his biggest | 29 |
| wins was over World Champion Nikolai Monov of Russia in the | 30 |
| World Cup; and |
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HR1040 |
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LRB093 22467 KEF 51997 r |
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| WHEREAS, Kevin went into the 2000 Olympic Trials as the | 2 |
| favorite, and he won matches in the best-of-three series by | 3 |
| scores of 4-0 and 7-4 to claim a spot on the U.S. Greco-Roman | 4 |
| Olympic team; competing in the Olympic Games was a dream come | 5 |
| true for Kevin; he started the tournament with a dominating | 6 |
| 12-5 win over the 1999 World Silver Medalist; the Olympic Games | 7 |
| came to a close with Kevin taking 6th place in Sydney; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, Kevin's first U.S. Open National Championship was | 9 |
| in 1997; he placed in the top four in the United States from | 10 |
| 1991 to 2003, missing one national championship due to | 11 |
| appendicitis; he won the 2001, 2002, and 2003 National | 12 |
| Championships; and
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| WHEREAS, Kevin's hopes for making the 2004 U.S. Greco-Roman | 14 |
| Olympic team ended when he lost at the finals of 2004 Olympic
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| Trials; in accordance with wrestling tradition, he placed his | 16 |
| shoes in the center of the the mat following his last match to | 17 |
| signify his retirement; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 19 |
| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 20 |
| recognize Kevin Bracken on his outstanding wrestling career, we | 21 |
| congratulate him for representing the United States in the | 22 |
| sport of Greco-Roman wrestling with dedication and courage; and | 23 |
| we wish him well in all his future endeavors; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 25 |
| presented to Kevin Bracken as a token of our admiration and | 26 |
| respect.
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