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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Jerry Reinsdorf, who was born in Brooklyn, New
3 York on February 25, 1936; he moved with his family to Chicago,
4 Illinois in 1957; Mr. Reinsdorf then went on to graduate from
5 George Washington University in Washington D.C., earn a law
6 degree from Northwestern University, as well as a Doctorate of
7 Humane Letters from Illinois College; Mr. Reinsdorf is married
8 to his wife, Martyl, and has four children and seven
9 grandchildren; and
 
10     WHEREAS, In addition to his sports interests, Mr. Reinsdorf
11 is an attorney, a certified public accountant, a specialist in
12 real estate securities, a registered mortgage underwriter, and
13 a certified review appraiser; in December 1987, Mr. Reinsdorf
14 completed employment as chairman of the board of a real estate
15 investment firm he co-founded in the early 1970s and sold to
16 American Express; currently, he is a partner in Bojer
17 Financial, Ltd., a land investment company; he is a former
18 member of the board of directors of Shearson Lehman Brothers,
19 Inc., the Northwestern University Law School Alumni
20 Association, LaSalle Bank, Equity Office Properties, and
21 numerous other corporations and charities; Mr. Reinsdorf is
22 also a current trustee of Northwestern University; and
 
23     WHEREAS, In 2005, Jerry Reinsdorf began his 25th season as
24 chairman of the Chicago White Sox, the second-longest ownership
25 tenure in franchise history behind club founder Charles
26 Comiskey (1901-31) and the second-longest as a controlling
27 owner among the 30 Major League clubs; during Reinsdorf's 25
28 seasons as chairman of the White Sox, the team has captured
29 American League division championships four times, including
30 an AL Central title in 2005; the White Sox, who also won
31 division titles in 1983, 1993, and 2000, were in first place in
32 both the 1994 and 2005 regular seasons; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, During his career in professional sports, Mr.
2 Reinsdorf has been responsible for the construction of two new
3 sports facilities in Chicago, Comiskey Park (1991), now U.S.
4 Cellular Field, and the United Center (1994); over the past
5 five off-seasons, Mr. Reinsdorf, the White Sox, and the
6 Illinois Sports Facilities Authority have undertaken dramatic
7 off-season renovations to U.S. Cellular Field with the goal of
8 improving the ballpark experience for White Sox fans; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Mr. Reinsdorf expanded his involvement in
10 professional sports in March 1985 by purchasing controlling
11 interest in the Chicago Bulls; during his tenure as chairman of
12 the Bulls, the team has captured six World Championships for
13 Chicago (1991-1993, 1996-1998); and
 
14     WHEREAS, On October 26th, 2005, after the Chicago White Sox
15 swept the Houston Astros to become the 2005 Major League
16 Baseball World Series Champions, Mr. Jerry Reinsdorf became
17 only the third owner in sports history to win championships in
18 two of the four major sports (baseball, basketball, football
19 and hockey); Mr. Reinsdorf has now won championships with both
20 the Chicago Bulls (1991-1993 and 1996-1998) and the 2005 World
21 Series Champion Chicago White Sox; therefore, be it
 
22     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
23 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
24 Mr. Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox, be
25 recognized and honored for his ability and astuteness in
26 assembling one of the most winning teams in Chicago White Sox
27 history; not only did the 2005 Chicago White Sox have the best
28 regular season record of all American League Baseball teams in
29 the 2005 season (with 99 wins and 63 loses), but the 2005
30 Chicago White Sox have dominated the 2005 playoff postseason by
31 sweeping the Boston Red Sox three games to none in the American
32 League Division Series and then soundly defeating the Los
33 Angeles Angels of Anaheim to become the first Chicago White Sox

 

 

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1 team in 46 years to reach the World Series; and be it further
 
2     RESOLVED, That Jerry Reinsdorf be honored by the 94th
3 Illinois General Assembly by bringing the first World Series
4 Championship to the Chicago White Sox since 1917, a span of 88
5 years; not only did the 2005 Chicago White Sox win the World
6 Series, but did it by sweeping the Houston Astros in four
7 straight games, showing that leadership, teamwork, and
8 humility are the keys to success, from the owner down to each
9 individual ball player; and be it further
 
10     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11 presented to Mr. Jerry Reinsdorf and his family and to the
12 Chicago White Sox organization.