HR0515 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0515 LRB097 13363 GRL 57879 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate the owners and employees of the Illini Media Company on the occasion of the organization's 100th anniversary; and

WHEREAS, The Illini Media Company is a non-profit corporation that is totally self-supported and independent; the company provides an unsurpassed educational opportunity and hands-on media training for approximately 300 students attending the University of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The Daily Illini began publication in 1871; the Illini Publishing Company was chartered on May 11, 1911 by the State of Illinois as a non-profit corporation established to organize and operate student media at the University of Illinois; directed by a student/faculty board, the IPC was one of the first collegiate publishing companies to practice successfully; and

WHEREAS, Over the years, the Illini Media Company has produced numerous publications, including The Daily Illini, Illio, The Illinois Magazine, The Siren, Illinois Technograph Magazine, The Illinois Agriculturalist, The Entrepreneur, The Architectural Year Book, and The R.O.T.C. Journal; today, the Illini Media Company owns and operates The Daily Illini, the Illio yearbook, the Illinois Technograph engineering magazine, and WPGU-FM radio; and

WHEREAS, In 1954, WPGU began broadcasting as a pirate radio station wired through the ROTC barracks; in 1959, WPGU joined the Illini Publishing Company; in 1973, WPGU began broadcasting 24 hours a day; and

WHEREAS, In August of 1988, Illini Media Company moved its print operations from its original location at 620 E. John Street to a new location at 57 E. Green Street; the organization remained there until 2006, when it moved into its new facility at 512 E. Green Street; and

WHEREAS, In 1998, the Daily Illini changed from a paid circulation to a free distribution paper, which increased the paper's circulation from 10,000 to 20,000; the Illini's current circulation is 15,000; the following year, The Daily Illini launched Buzz, a new weekly entertainment magazine; in 2008, the217.com, an entertainment website covering events going on in the Champaign-Urbana Area, was launched; and

WHEREAS, The Illini Media Company and its employees serve as models of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the owners and employees of the Illini Media Company on the occasion of the organization's 100th anniversary and wish them continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Illini Media Company as a symbol of our esteem and respect.