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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, It is highly fitting that veterans are held in the
3highest esteem, especially by the Illinois House of
4Representatives and the State of Illinois; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The Illinois House of Representatives supports
6and admires those artistic attempts to bridge the gap between
7civilian and veteran experiences; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Illinois is host to the National Veterans Art
9Museum in Chicago; the Museum began as the Vietnam Veterans Art
10Group in 1981 in order to create an artistic collection of
11works as testament to veterans' experiences and the human cost
12of war; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The National Veterans Art Museum owns the piece
14known as "Above and Beyond", the only memorial other than The
15Wall in Washington, D.C. to list the names of every military
16personnel killed in action during the Vietnam War; the piece is
17comprised of 58,307 dog tags, each inscribed with the name of a
18casualty of the war; the piece was created by veteran artists
19Rick Steinbock, Ned Broderick, Joe Fornelli, and Mike Helbing;
20and
 
21    WHEREAS, "Above and Beyond" has struck awe into all those

 

 

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1who have seen it and it solemnly honors those who have given
2the last full measure of devotion in service to our country;
3and
 
4    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has yet to pay the entirety
5of a grant supporting the piece "Above and Beyond"; therefore,
6be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
8HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
9urge Governor Bruce Rauner, the Department of Commerce and
10Economic Opportunity, the General Assembly, and the Department
11of Veterans' Affairs to work together to find a way to pay the
12balance due to the National Veterans Art Museum; and be it
13further
 
14    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15presented to the Executive Director of the National Veterans
16Art Museum, the Director of the Department of Commerce and
17Economic Opportunity, and the Director of the Department of
18Veterans' Affairs.