Full Text of SR0048 97th General Assembly
SR0048 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The centennial of President Ronald Reagan's birth | 3 | | occurred on February 6, 2011; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, President Reagan was the only U.S. president born | 5 | | in the State of Illinois, in the town of Tampico; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan spent his formative years in | 7 | | Illinois, growing up in Dixon; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, While serving as a lifeguard on the Rock River | 9 | | during his teenage years, Ronald Reagan was credited with | 10 | | saving 77 lives; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan went to Illinois' Eureka College, | 12 | | where he majored in economics and sociology and graduated from | 13 | | that institution in 1932; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, After college, Ronald Reagan entered the field of | 15 | | broadcasting as an announcer for the Chicago Cubs out of the | 16 | | WHO radio station in Des Moines, Iowa; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan then traveled to Hollywood to embark | 18 | | on a career in motion pictures, eventually starring in more | 19 | | than 60 films; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan left acting to serve in the Second | 2 | | World War, eventually rising to the rank of Captain in the | 3 | | United States Army Air Force; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan put his acting skills to use in the | 5 | | armed forces, helping make more than 400 training films to | 6 | | assist AAF pilots; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Upon returning to Hollywood, Ronald Reagan joined | 8 | | the Screen Actors Guild union, eventually serving six terms as | 9 | | president of the organization; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan's role as George Gipp in the movie | 11 | | "Knute Rockne: All American" led to his nickname "The Gipper", | 12 | | which he was called for the rest of his life; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, On the set of the movie "Hellcats of the Navy", | 14 | | Ronald Reagan met the woman who would end up being the love of | 15 | | his life, Nancy Davis; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan was the proud father of four | 17 | | children - Maureen, Ron, Jr., Patti, and Michael; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan served as a spokesman for General | 19 | | Electric; he later served as a host for the popular TV show |
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| 1 | | General Electric Theater; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan went on to be elected to serve as | 3 | | the two-time governor of California, serving from 1967 to 1975; | 4 | | and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United | 6 | | States in 1980 - the first native-born Illinois person to reach | 7 | | the highest office in the land; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, President Reagan's optimism and belief that the | 9 | | United States' best days were yet to come helped rejuvenate the | 10 | | American spirit; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, President Reagan never mistook his political | 12 | | opponents for enemies, and worked with his Democratic Congress | 13 | | on behalf of the American people; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, President Reagan's grace under pressure during | 15 | | his assassination attempt, with quips such as "Honey, I forgot | 16 | | to duck", helped console the American people during that very | 17 | | dark hour; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, President Reagan's strong support for our | 19 | | national defense and his popularity among our nation's fighting | 20 | | men and women led to the naming of the aircraft carrier USS |
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| 1 | | Ronald Reagan in his honor; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, During President Reagan's presidency, the United | 3 | | States was respected throughout the world, and foreign | 4 | | relations improved with Europe, India, China, and other | 5 | | nations; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, During the Reagan presidency, America saw years of | 7 | | unprecedented economic growth and prosperity; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, President Reagan never forgot his Illinois roots - | 9 | | frequently coming back to our State to visit his boyhood home | 10 | | of Dixon, Eureka College, and other communities; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, As president, Ronald Reagan was graced with the | 12 | | nickname "The Great Communicator" for his ability to convey his | 13 | | vision to the American people; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, President Reagan's popularity among the American | 15 | | people led to his winning 49 states in his reelection and | 16 | | capturing more electoral votes than any other presidential | 17 | | candidate in history; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Working with national leaders and our democratic | 19 | | allies, President Reagan played a crucial part in ending | 20 | | communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, When the reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev took | 2 | | power in the Soviet Union, President Reagan worked with him to | 3 | | diffuse Cold War tensions; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, President Reagan worked with General Secretary | 5 | | Gorbachev to reduce nuclear arms by concluding an agreement on | 6 | | the INF Treaty, which, for the first time ever, reduced the | 7 | | number of nuclear weapons; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, President Reagan gave a famous speech in 1987 | 9 | | calling on Mr. Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, which | 10 | | did fall a little more than two years later; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, By the end of the Reagan presidency, Cold War | 12 | | tensions between the Soviet Union and United States had | 13 | | dramatically decreased; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, President Reagan's speech comforting the nation | 15 | | following the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger helped | 16 | | console a grieving nation; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, President Reagan's leadership inspired many young | 18 | | Americans to enter public service; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, President Reagan's courageous fight against |
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| 1 | | Alzheimer's disease led to greater public awareness of that | 2 | | terrible illness; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Hundreds of landmarks, roads, and buildings have | 4 | | been named as a tribute to President Reagan across America, | 5 | | including Washington DC's Reagan Airport and Ronald Reagan | 6 | | Building, and Illinois' Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway; | 7 | | therefore, be it
| 8 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 9 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we salute President | 10 | | Ronald Reagan on the 100th anniversary of his birth, thank him | 11 | | for the service to our country as a member of our armed forces, | 12 | | as a public servant, and as President, and honor him for | 13 | | helping to revive the American spirit.
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