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[ Introduced ] | [ Engrossed ] | [ House Amendment 002 ] |
92_HJ0007ham001 LRB9203345RHrham02 1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 7 2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Joint Resolution 7 by 3 replacing everything after the title with the following: 4 "WHEREAS, Throughout history brave Americans have shed 5 their blood during wars and conflicts to preserve, protect, 6 and defend the foundation of the principles of democracy and 7 freedom; and 8 WHEREAS, Many of those that have served have been the 9 brave men and women of the State of Illinois; and 10 WHEREAS, In every military conflict and national time of 11 need since 1818, the brave men and women of the State of 12 Illinois have risen to the cause of defending democracy; and 13 WHEREAS, These brave men and women often left behind 14 family, friends, farms, and businesses, and many of them were 15 never to return, making the ultimate sacrifice for their 16 country; and 17 WHEREAS, With the signing of the Armistice ending the 18 "War to End All Wars", WWI, on November 11, 1918, the 19 veterans of Illinois were given a holiday of solemn 20 remembrance and thanks from their countrymen, which later 21 came to be known as Veterans Day; and -2- LRB9203345RHrham02 1 WHEREAS, The people of the great State of Illinois wish 2 to thank those numerous veterans for their sacrifices and 3 service; and 4 WHEREAS, On August 7, 1782, General George Washington 5 established the Military Badge of Merit, which on February 6 22, 1932 became the Purple Heart medal, now the oldest 7 military decoration in the world; and 8 WHEREAS, The Purple Heart medal is awarded to military 9 personnel who are killed or wounded in action against the 10 enemy; and 11 WHEREAS, E.J. "Zeke" Giorgi was first elected to the 12 House of Representatives in 1964, and he served in that 13 position until his passing in 1993; and 14 WHEREAS, From his first term through his service as "Dean 15 of the House", Zeke Giorgi served the people of this State 16 with great distinction, and he is remembered by his 17 colleagues on both sides of the aisle for providing 18 invaluable guidance and leadership on many important issues; 19 and 20 WHEREAS, During all the years that Zeke Giorgi served in 21 the House, he drove between Springfield and his Rockford 22 legislative district on U.S. Highway 51 and was a strong 23 advocate for Route 51 improvements, which were completed in 24 several stages; and 25 WHEREAS, Following the completion of improvements to U.S. 26 Route 51, the highway was designated as Interstate Highway 27 39; and 28 WHEREAS, Interstate Highway 39 provides an essential 29 transportation corridor between Rockford and Bloomington and 30 other parts of Central Illinois; and -3- LRB9203345RHrham02 1 WHEREAS, We wish to permanently commemorate Zeke Giorgi's 2 essential role in creating this critically needed highway and 3 his abiding impact on the lives of the people of Illinois; 4 and 5 WHEREAS, Thomas William Davenport was a licensed civil 6 engineer with the Illinois Department of Transportation; on 7 April 16, 1992, he was killed by a drunk driver north of his 8 home in Chatham, Illinois; and 9 WHEREAS, Thomas Davenport was a son, brother, husband, 10 and father; and 11 WHEREAS, Thomas Davenport, working with the Illinois 12 Department of Transportation, assisted with the building of 13 the bridge on South Chatham Road that crosses Interstate 72 14 and Illinois Route 36; and 15 WHEREAS, The bridge is located on South Chatham Road in 16 Springfield, Illinois, and is used as an overpass for 17 Interstate 72 and Illinois Route 36; and 18 WHEREAS, The members of the House were saddened to learn 19 of the death of Mayor Ken Hayes of Bradley; and 20 WHEREAS, He was elected mayor in 1981 and was re-elected 21 in 1985, 1989, 1993, and 1997; and 22 WHEREAS, He was born in Limestone Township on August 30, 23 1924, the son of Patrick and Catherine Hayes; the family 24 moved to Bradley when he was three months old, and until his 25 death he lived in the house that his father bought; and 26 WHEREAS, He attended St. Joseph's Grammar School and 27 Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School; he served in the 28 United States Army's 83rd Division, 331st Infantry, Company L 29 during World War II; he won the Silver Star, the Bronze Star 30 with clusters for meritorious service, a Good Conduct medal, -4- LRB9203345RHrham02 1 the European Theatre of Operations medal for five campaigns, 2 and the Croix de Guerre for service to France; and 3 WHEREAS, When he returned from war, Ken Hayes became a 4 precinct captain and then a committeeman; he was elected 5 vice-chairman of the Democratic Central Committee in Kankakee 6 County in 1966 and served in that role until 1972, when he 7 was elected central committee chairman; and 8 WHEREAS, When he arrived home from the Army, he worked in 9 the pipefitter's union local until he had a heart attack in 10 1963, which led him to quit his trade; he went to work 11 inspecting seed for the Illinois Department of Agriculture; 12 and 13 WHEREAS, He later went to work for the Illinois Secretary 14 of State and retired with a disability pension after a heart 15 bypass operation in 1978; and 16 WHEREAS, He was the founder of the Area Jobs Development 17 Association; was active in scouting, golfing, and the Bradley 18 Lions; and was a life member of the Bradley V.F.W.; and 19 WHEREAS, Under Mayor Hayes' strong leadership, the 20 Village of Bradley experienced unprecedented commercial and 21 retail growth, producing large increases in sales tax revenue 22 for Bradley; and 23 WHEREAS, He was a member of the Loyal Order of the Moose 24 Lodge of Bradley, one of the vice presidents of the Illinois 25 Municipal League, and a member of the Mayors Association; and 26 WHEREAS, Much of the commercial growth and development 27 that Kenneth P. Hayes worked for occurred along Illinois 28 Route 50; therefore, be it 29 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 30 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE -5- LRB9203345RHrham02 1 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that Interstate 74, traversing 2 through the heart of Illinois is designated as the Veterans 3 Memorial Parkway, in honor of the veterans of the State of 4 Illinois; and be it further 5 RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation 6 is requested to erect appropriate plaques along this route in 7 recognition of the Veterans Memorial Parkway; and be it 8 further 9 RESOLVED, That Interstate 72, traversing through the 10 heart of Illinois, be designated as the commemorative Purple 11 Heart Memorial Highway, to pay tribute to the many thousands 12 of Illinois residents who have been awarded the Purple Heart 13 medal; and be it further 14 RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation 15 is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with 16 State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs 17 giving notice of the Purple Heart Memorial Highway; and be it 18 further 19 RESOLVED, That the portion of Interstate Highway 39 20 commencing at its point of origin in Winnebago County and 21 ending at its intersection with Interstate Route 88 be 22 designated the E.J. "Zeke" Giorgi Highway; and be it further 23 RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation 24 is requested to erect appropriate plaques or signs giving 25 notice of the E.J. "Zeke" Giorgi Highway; and be it further 26 RESOLVED, That the bridge on South Chatham Road, spanning 27 Interstate 72 and Illinois Route 36, is named the Thomas 28 William Davenport Memorial Bridge; and be it further 29 RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation 30 is requested to erect, at a suitable location consistent with 31 State and federal regulations, an appropriate plaque or signs -6- LRB9203345RHrham02 1 giving notice of the Thomas Williams Davenport Memorial 2 Bridge; and be it further 3 RESOLVED, That Illinois Route 50 in Bradley, Illinois, 4 from North Street to Larry Power Road, is designated as the 5 Kenneth P. Hayes Memorial Highway; and be it further 6 RESOLVED That the Illinois Department of Transportation 7 is requested to erect appropriate signs or plaques giving 8 notice of the Kenneth P. Hayes Memorial Highway; and be it 9 further 10 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 11 presented to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of 12 Transportation; the Secretary of the Illinois Department of 13 Transportation; the family of E.J. "Zeke" Giorgi; the family 14 of Thomas William Davenport; and to the family of Mayor Ken 15 Hayes.".