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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois General Assembly were
3 deeply saddened to learn of the death of President Ronald
4 Reagan on June 5, 2004; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in
6 Tampico, Illinois, the first American President born in
7 Illinois; as a youth, he worked as a lifeguard at Lowell Park
8 in Dixon, Illinois, and he graduated from Eureka College,
9 located in Eureka, Illinois; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan was a man of humble beginnings,
11 working as a radio announcer, entertainer, union leader, and
12 corporate spokesman; and
 
13     WHEREAS, His marriage to actress Jayne Wyman gave him three
14 children: Maureen, an adopted son Michael, and Christine, who
15 was born four months premature and died the day after her
16 birth; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan later married Nancy Davis on March
18 4, 1952, his steadfast partner for the next 52 years, who
19 served her country with distinction as First Lady, who would
20 later make public appearances on behalf of her ailing husband,
21 and who became the primary caregiver for the aging President;
22 together, Ronald and Nancy had two children, Patti and Ronald;
23 and
 
24     WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan was elected to two terms as Governor
25 of California, bringing conservative politics to the forefront
26 in California, taking office with a sizeable state budget
27 deficit, reducing taxes, and leaving the Governor's Office
28 eight years later with a modest financial surplus for
29 California; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, After two previous unsuccessful bids for the
2 Republican nomination, on November 4, 1980, Ronald Reagan was
3 elected President of the United States of America; on January
4 20, 1981, at the age of 69, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the
5 country's 40th president, to quickly become known to the world
6 as the "Great Communicator"; and
 
7     WHEREAS, President Reagan worked to restore the founding
8 principles of this country by upholding individual
9 responsibility and personal liberty; his actions and words sent
10 a strong message, both domestically and globally, that the
11 United States remained vigilant and that he, as President,
12 would use the country's strengths to the advantage of the
13 American people; and
 
14     WHEREAS, By rebuilding the U.S. military, the country
15 regained a formidable position from which America could better
16 fight the Cold War, standing against the Soviet Union, and
17 ultimately, bringing down the Iron Curtain once and for all;
18 his foreign policies further helped to bring about the collapse
19 of the Berlin Wall without bloodshed or loss of life, offering
20 the German people the support and fortitude of the American
21 principle of freedom; and
 
22     WHEREAS, Many at the time were critical of "Reaganomics"
23 and its overall effect on the country's economy; today many
24 historians and economists believe that the principles and
25 doctrines worked to restart the California economy and worked
26 to revive a Nation and its financial structure; and
 
27     WHEREAS, The social reforms proposed by President Reagan
28 were similarly criticized; when he first proposed that welfare
29 recipients should be required to work, he was rebuked as being
30 cruel and unjust, but today to do otherwise would jeopardize
31 the welfare recipients' dignity; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, After eight years in the Oval Office, in January
2 1989, President Reagan returned to his California ranch, and on
3 November 4, 1991, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in
4 Simi Valley, California was dedicated; and
 
5     WHEREAS, On November 5, 1994, President Reagan disclosed
6 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, continuing
7 to show courage and fortitude by publicly facing the
8 debilitating disease of age; and
 
9     WHEREAS, On October 11, 2001, President Reagan became the
10 longest-lived president ever, besting the nation's second
11 President, John Adams, who had lived 91 years; and
 
12     WHEREAS, On July 12, 2003, the United States Navy
13 commissioned its newest aircraft carrier, the "USS Ronald
14 Reagan", the first carrier to be named for a living president;
15 and
 
16     WHEREAS, On June 5, 2004, the world was told its faithful
17 servant, President Ronald Reagan, had passed away at his home
18 in California; therefore, be it
 
19     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
20 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
21 CONCURRING HEREIN, that we mourn the loss of President Ronald
22 Reagan, while we honor and celebrate his dedication and service
23 to the People of the United States of America and the world at
24 large; and be it further
 
25     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
26 presented to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, to the
27 Ronald Reagan Museum at Eureka College, and to the family of
28 President Reagan.