Full Text of HR0399 97th General Assembly
HR0399 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to congratulate Oprah Winfrey on | 4 | | the occasion of her show's final season; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in | 6 | | Kosciusko, Mississippi; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Oprah Winfrey began her broadcasting career at | 8 | | WVOL radio in Nashville while still in high school; at the age | 9 | | of 19, she became the youngest person and the first | 10 | | African-American woman to anchor the news at Nashville's | 11 | | WTVF-TV; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, In 1976, Oprah Winfrey moved to Baltimore, | 13 | | Maryland to join WJZ-TV news as a co-anchor of the Six O'Clock | 14 | | News, and in 1978, discovered her talent for hosting talk shows | 15 | | when she became co-host of WJZ-TV's talk show "People Are | 16 | | Talking", while continuing to serve as anchor and news | 17 | | reporter; in January 1984, she moved to Chicago to host | 18 | | WLS-TV's morning talk show "AM Chicago", which became the | 19 | | number one local talk show just one month after she began; in | 20 | | less than a year, the show expanded to one hour and, in | 21 | | September 1985, was renamed "The Oprah Winfrey Show"; in 1986, | 22 | | "The Oprah Winfrey Show" was syndicated and aired in 107 |
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| 1 | | countries with 23 million viewers; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Oprah Winfrey has impacted the media of | 3 | | television, publishing, film, philanthropy, education, and | 4 | | health and fitness; she has also been a boon to the tourism and | 5 | | hospitality industries in the City of Chicago through the many | 6 | | people throughout the world who have come to see her show and | 7 | | the many celebrities she has brought to the City; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, In the television medium, the film medium, and the | 9 | | print medium, Oprah Winfrey serves as chairperson of HARPO, | 10 | | Inc., HARPO Productions, Inc.; HARPO Studios Inc., HARPO Films, | 11 | | Inc., HARPO Print, LLC, and HARPO Video, Inc.; she recently | 12 | | created her own network, OWN; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Oprah Winfrey has received numerous awards, | 14 | | including the George Foster Peabody Individual Achievement | 15 | | Award (1996); the International Radio and Television Society's | 16 | | "Broadcaster of the Year" Award (1996); Newsweek's "Most | 17 | | Important Person" in books and media, TV Guide's "Television | 18 | | Performer of the Year" (1997); Time magazine's "100 Most | 19 | | Influential People of the 20th Century", the National Academy | 20 | | of Television Arts and Sciences' Lifetime Achievement Award | 21 | | (1998); the National Book Foundation's 50th Anniversary Gold | 22 | | Medal (1999); the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, Broadcasting & | 23 | | Cable's Hall of Fame (2002); Association of American Publishers |
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| 1 | | AAP Honors award (2003); National Association of Broadcasters | 2 | | Distinguished Service Award; and Time Magazine's "100 Most | 3 | | Influential People in the World" (2004); and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, After receiving 39 Daytime Emmy Awards, seven for | 5 | | Outstanding Host, nine for Outstanding Talk Show, 21 in the | 6 | | Creative Arts categories, and one for her work as supervising | 7 | | producer of the ABC After School Special "Shades of Single | 8 | | Protein", Oprah Winfrey's removed herself from future Emmy | 9 | | consideration in 1999, and the show followed suit in 2000; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The City of Chicago named the street where Harpo | 11 | | Studios resides "Oprah Winfrey Way" in honor of Oprah's | 12 | | contribution to the City and its residents; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Oprah Winfrey's never-ending philanthropy has | 14 | | been exemplified by such activities as ChristmasKindness South | 15 | | Africa 2002; Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls-South | 16 | | Africa; and the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program; among her many | 17 | | ventures that have improved the lives of countless individuals | 18 | | are Oprah's Angel Network;
Oprah's Book Club; the Live Your | 19 | | Best Life Tour; her service as national spokesperson for "A | 20 | | Better Chance";
and her service as an advocate for the National | 21 | | Child Protection Act, which was signed on December 20, 1993 by | 22 | | President Clinton and declared the "Oprah Bill"; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Oprah Winfrey's final show was as big as her | 2 | | career; the episode was filmed at the United Center in Chicago | 3 | | and featured dozens of celebrity guests, including Mayor | 4 | | Richard M. Daley; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Oprah Winfrey's ability to reach, encourage, and | 6 | | effect change and to teach her viewers through her own | 7 | | experiences have enabled her to become a leader in the world of | 8 | | entertainment and journalism and an inspiration to countless | 9 | | millions throughout the world; therefore, be it
| 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 11 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 12 | | we congratulate Oprah Winfrey on the occasion of her show's | 13 | | final season, thank her for making the State of Illinois her | 14 | | home, and wish her good luck and continued success in the | 15 | | future; and be it further
| 16 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 17 | | presented to Oprah Winfrey as an expression of our utmost | 18 | | respect and esteem.
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