Full Text of SJR0087 93rd General Assembly
SJ0087 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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SJ0087 |
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LRB093 22552 RCE 52111 r |
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois General Assembly were | 3 |
| deeply saddened to learn of the death of President Ronald | 4 |
| Reagan on June 5, 2004; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in | 6 |
| Tampico, Illinois, the first American President born in | 7 |
| Illinois; as a youth, he worked as a lifeguard at Lowell Park | 8 |
| in Dixon, Illinois, and he graduated from Eureka College, | 9 |
| located in Eureka, Illinois; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan was a man of humble beginnings, | 11 |
| working as a radio announcer, entertainer, union leader, and | 12 |
| corporate spokesman; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, His marriage to actress Jayne Wyman gave him three | 14 |
| children: Maureen, an adopted son Michael, and Christine, who | 15 |
| was born four months premature and died the day after her | 16 |
| birth; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan later married Nancy Davis on March | 18 |
| 4, 1952, his steadfast partner for the next 52 years, who | 19 |
| served her country with distinction as First Lady, who would | 20 |
| later make public appearances on behalf of her ailing husband, | 21 |
| and who became the primary caregiver for the aging President; | 22 |
| together, Ronald and Nancy had two children, Patti and Ronald; | 23 |
| and | 24 |
| WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan was elected to two terms as Governor | 25 |
| of California, bringing conservative politics to the forefront | 26 |
| in California, taking office with a sizeable state budget | 27 |
| deficit, reducing taxes, and leaving the Governor's Office | 28 |
| eight years later with a modest financial surplus for | 29 |
| California; and |
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LRB093 22552 RCE 52111 r |
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| WHEREAS, After two previous unsuccessful bids for the | 2 |
| Republican nomination, on November 4, 1980, Ronald Reagan was | 3 |
| elected President of the United States of America; on January | 4 |
| 20, 1981, at the age of 69, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the | 5 |
| country's 40th president, to quickly become known to the world | 6 |
| as the "Great Communicator"; and | 7 |
| WHEREAS, President Reagan worked to restore the founding | 8 |
| principles of this country by upholding individual | 9 |
| responsibility and personal liberty; his actions and words sent | 10 |
| a strong message, both domestically and globally, that the | 11 |
| United States remained vigilant and that he, as President, | 12 |
| would use the country's strengths to the advantage of the | 13 |
| American people; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, By rebuilding the U.S. military, the country | 15 |
| regained a formidable position from which America could better | 16 |
| fight the Cold War, standing against the Soviet Union, and | 17 |
| ultimately, bringing down the Iron Curtain once and for all; | 18 |
| his foreign policies further helped to bring about the collapse | 19 |
| of the Berlin Wall without bloodshed or loss of life, offering | 20 |
| the German people the support and fortitude of the American | 21 |
| principle of freedom; and | 22 |
| WHEREAS, Many at the time were critical of "Reaganomics" | 23 |
| and its overall effect on the country's economy; today many | 24 |
| historians and economists believe that the principles and | 25 |
| doctrines worked to restart the California economy and worked | 26 |
| to revive a Nation and its financial structure; and | 27 |
| WHEREAS, The social reforms proposed by President Reagan | 28 |
| were similarly criticized; when he first proposed that welfare | 29 |
| recipients should be required to work, he was rebuked as being | 30 |
| cruel and unjust, but today to do otherwise would jeopardize | 31 |
| the welfare recipients' dignity; and |
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LRB093 22552 RCE 52111 r |
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| WHEREAS, After eight years in the Oval Office, in January | 2 |
| 1989, President Reagan returned to his California ranch, and on | 3 |
| November 4, 1991, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in | 4 |
| Simi Valley, California was dedicated; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, On November 5, 1994, President Reagan disclosed | 6 |
| that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, continuing | 7 |
| to show courage and fortitude by publicly facing the | 8 |
| debilitating disease of age; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, On October 11, 2001, President Reagan became the | 10 |
| longest-lived president ever, besting the nation's second | 11 |
| President, John Adams, who had lived 91 years; and | 12 |
| WHEREAS, On July 12, 2003, the United States Navy | 13 |
| commissioned its newest aircraft carrier, the "USS Ronald | 14 |
| Reagan", the first carrier to be named for a living president; | 15 |
| and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, On June 5, 2004, the world was told its faithful | 17 |
| servant, President Ronald Reagan, had passed away at his home | 18 |
| in California; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL | 20 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 21 |
| CONCURRING HEREIN, that we mourn the loss of President Ronald | 22 |
| Reagan, while we honor and celebrate his dedication and service | 23 |
| to the People of the United States of America and the world at | 24 |
| large; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 26 |
| presented to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, to the | 27 |
| Ronald Reagan Museum at Eureka College, and to the family of | 28 |
| President Reagan.
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