Full Text of SR0579 103rd General Assembly
SR0579 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | SR0579 | | LRB103 35210 ECR 65191 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to | 3 | | congratulate Tom Skilling on his retirement from WGN-TV on | 4 | | February 28, 2024, after 45 years of service; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Tom Skilling's first job was at the radio station | 6 | | WKKD in Aurora when he was 14; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Tom Skilling worked for several TV and radio | 8 | | shows in Illinois and Wisconsin before being hired as a | 9 | | meteorologist for WGN in 1978; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Tom Skilling animated his own weather maps early | 11 | | in his broadcasting career and subsequently helped bring | 12 | | animated satellite imagery and radar on air to WGN; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Tom Skilling was a WGN meteorologist during many | 14 | | weather-related events in Chicago history, including the | 15 | | brutal winters of the 1980s, the Plainfield tornado on August | 16 | | 28, 1990, the heat wave in 1995, and the Groundhog's Day | 17 | | blizzard of 2011; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Tom Skilling has reported firsthand on the | 19 | | weather in Alaska, Las Vegas, and on an ice-breaking ship in | 20 | | the middle of Lake Huron and was famously chased by a tornado |
| | | SR0579 | - 2 - | LRB103 35210 ECR 65191 r |
|
| 1 | | in Oklahoma in 2010; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Tom Skilling has won multiple Emmys from the | 3 | | Chicago/Midwest chapter of the National Academy Television | 4 | | Arts & Science; he was honored with the Pride of Edgewater | 5 | | award from the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce in 2017 and the | 6 | | Broadcast Pioneer Award from the Illinois Broadcasters | 7 | | Association in 2018; U.S. Representatives Bill Foster and Mike | 8 | | Quigley submitted a statement to the official Congressional | 9 | | Record that honors his four-and-a-half decades as a | 10 | | meteorologist on November 1, 2023; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Tom Skilling funds a scholarship to assist a | 12 | | local college student each year; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Tom Skilling has hosted severe weather seminars | 14 | | at Fermilab near suburban Batavia for nearly four decades; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In recent years, Tom Skilling has studied the | 16 | | science of climate change, leading talks and participating in | 17 | | conferences on the subject across Chicago and the United | 18 | | States; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, As the longtime chief meteorologist for WGN-TV, | 20 | | Tom Skilling has been one of the most trusted figures on | 21 | | television screens throughout the Chicago area for decades, |
| | | SR0579 | - 3 - | LRB103 35210 ECR 65191 r |
|
| 1 | | expertly and calmly explaining the region's often | 2 | | unpredictable weather situations for generations of viewers; | 3 | | and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Tom Skilling enjoys going to the beach and Loyola | 5 | | University's lakefront campus and being a regular at Lickity | 6 | | Split Frozen Custard, the Indie Cafe, and the Waterfront Cafe; | 7 | | therefore, be it | 8 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 9 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Tom | 10 | | Skilling on his retirement from WGN-TV on February 28, 2024; | 11 | | and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 13 | | presented to Tom Skilling as a symbol of our esteem and | 14 | | respect. |
|