HR0748 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0748 LRB096 15444 KXB 30658 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Fred Rodgers, longtime youth services director of Aurora, on having the Root Street Community Center renamed the Fred Rodgers Community Center; and

WHEREAS, After a lifetime spent working for the young people of this city, Fred Rodgers' name will be immortalized on the Root Street community center that houses his office; and

WHEREAS, He will retire at the end of October of 2009 and as a tribute, the Aurora City Council voted unanimously to re-name the Root Street building the Fred Rodgers Community Center; and

WHEREAS, Fred Rodgers started working with the city in 1986 and since then has started and nurtured dozens of programs for the kids of Aurora, including the City of Lights tournaments, the Aurora Sports Festival, and many anti-violence and drug-prevention initiatives; and

WHEREAS, Many of the things that Fred Rodgers has done over the years have not been public information, including paying for college educations, or giving kids rides to the train so they could attend school, or offering jobs to teens to keep them off the street; and

WHEREAS, A dedication ceremony for the Fred Rodgers Community Center will be held on November 7, 2009; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Fred Rodgers on this tribute and wish him all the best in his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Fred Rodgers as a symbol of our respect and esteem.