State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_HJ0002

 
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 1                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, On February 6, 1911, Ronald  Wilson  Reagan  was
 3    born  to  Nelle  and    John  Reagan in Tampico, Illinois; he
 4    attended high school in nearby Dixon and then  worked his way
 5    through  Eureka  College;  at  Eureka  College,  he   studied
 6    economics  and  sociology,   played on the football team, and
 7    acted in school plays; upon graduation, he became  a    radio
 8    sports announcer; a screen test in 1937 won him a contract in
 9    Hollywood  and  during the next two decades he appeared in 53
10    films; and

11        WHEREAS, As president of the Screen Actors Guild,  Reagan
12    became  embroiled  in disputes over the issue of Communism in
13    the film industry; his political views shifted  from  liberal
14    to  conservative; he toured the country as a television host,
15    becoming a   spokesman  for  conservatism;  in  1966  he  was
16    elected  Governor  of  California  by  a margin  of a million
17    votes; he was re-elected in 1970; and

18        WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan won  the  Republican  Presidential
19    nomination  in  1980    and  chose as his running mate former
20    Texas Congressman and United Nations  Ambassador George Bush;
21    voters troubled by inflation and by the year-long confinement
22    of  Americans  in  Iran  swept  the  Republican  ticket  into
23    office; and

24        WHEREAS, On January 20, 1981, Reagan took office; only 69
25    days  later  he  was  shot by a would-be assassin but quickly
26    recovered and returned to duty; his grace and wit  during the
27    dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar; and

28        WHEREAS,  Dealing  skillfully   with   Congress,   Reagan
29    obtained  legislation  to    stimulate  economic growth, curb
30    inflation,  increase  employment,  and  strengthen   national
31    defense;  he  embarked  upon  a  course  of cutting taxes and
32    government expenditures, refusing to deviate from his  course
 
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 1    when  the  strengthening  of  defense  forces  led to a large
 2    deficit;  and

 3        WHEREAS, A renewal of national  self-confidence  by  1984
 4    helped   Reagan   and    Bush  win  a  second  term  with  an
 5    unprecedented number of electoral votes; and

 6        WHEREAS, In 1986  Reagan  obtained  an  overhaul  of  the
 7    income  tax code that eliminated many deductions and exempted
 8    millions of people with low incomes;  at  the    end  of  his
 9    administration,  the nation was enjoying its longest recorded
10    period  of    peacetime  prosperity  without   recession   or
11    depression; and

12        WHEREAS,  In  foreign  policy,  Reagan  sought to achieve
13    "peace through  strength"; in dramatic meetings  with  Soviet
14    leader  Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated a  treaty that would
15    eliminate   intermediate-range   nuclear   missiles;   Reagan
16    declared  war    against  international  terrorism,   sending
17    American  bombers against Libya after evidence  came out that
18    Libya was involved in an attack on  American  soldiers  in  a
19    West Berlin  nightclub; and

20        WHEREAS,  By  ordering naval escorts in the Persian Gulf,
21    he maintained the free  flow of oil during the Iran-Iraq war;
22    in keeping with the Reagan Doctrine,  he  gave    support  to
23    anti-Communist  insurgencies  in  Central  America, Asia, and
24    Africa; and

25        WHEREAS, At the end of his two terms  in  office,  Ronald
26    Reagan  viewed  with    satisfaction  the achievements of his
27    innovative program known as the  Reagan    Revolution,  which
28    aimed  to  reinvigorate  the American people and reduce their
29    reliance  upon government;  he  felt  he  had  fulfilled  his
30    campaign  pledge  of  1980  to restore "the  great, confident
31    roar of American progress and growth and optimism"; and
 
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 1        WHEREAS, The Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity
 2    and the goal of    peace  through  strength  was  within  the
 3    nations's grasp; and

 4        WHEREAS, Ulysses Simpson (U.S. "Unconditional Surrender")
 5    Grant was the best-known Federal general in the United States
 6    Civil  War;  because  of  his military prowess and daring, he
 7    helped to shorten the time of that great and bitter conflict;
 8    and

 9        WHEREAS, U.S. Grant's exploits in the  Civil  War  earned
10    him  the  Republican nomination and ultimately 2 terms as the
11    18th President of the United States; as President, he  pushed
12    for  conciliation  toward  the  South,  sought  unconditional
13    readmission  of  Virginia  to the Union, relentlessly opposed
14    the Ku Klux Klan in his ever stalwart detestation of  slavery
15    and its aftermath, and established a strong record in foreign
16    affairs; and

17        WHEREAS,  Although  dying  of throat cancer, he wrote his
18    now classic memoirs in an effort to support his family and to
19    guarantee that they would be provided for upon his death; and

20        WHEREAS, U.S. Grant died on July 23, 1885, and  his  body
21    was  finally  laid  to  rest  amidst much pomp, circumstance,
22    parades, and speeches; and

23        WHEREAS, Illinois is where U.S. Grant lived, worked,  and
24    spent  many  happy days in the municipality of Galena; and it
25    is only fitting  and  proper  that  this  great  General  and
26    President  who  played  such  a  critical  role in saving the
27    Republic should be  duly  honored  and  commemorated  by  the
28    gracious  people  of this State to whom Grant brought so much
29    glory; therefore, be it

30        RESOLVED  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF   REPRESENTATIVES   OF   THE
31    NINETY-FIRST  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
 
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 1    SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the  General  Assembly
 2    and  the  Governor to pass  and approve appropriations to the
 3    Secretary of State for the purpose of  commissioning  statues
 4    of  Ronald  Reagan and U.S. Grant to be placed on the grounds
 5    of the State Capitol; and be it  further

 6        RESOLVED, That we urge all elected State officers of  the
 7    executive   and      legislative  branches  to  seek  private
 8    contributions for the project; and be it further

 9        RESOLVED, That suitable  copies  of  this  resolution  be
10    delivered  to  the Governor,  the Secretary of State, and all
11    elected State  officers  of  the  executive  and  legislative
12    branches.

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