HR1102 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1102 LRB096 21903 KXB 40006 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who was tragically killed, along with his wife, Maria, in an airplane crash, on April 10, 2010; and

WHEREAS, President Kaczynski was traveling with a Polish delegation to Russia for the 70th anniversary of the Russian massacre of Polish prisoners of war in the village of Katyn; the event was to be a milestone in the easing of relations between Russia and Poland; and

WHEREAS, President Kaczynski was a one-time anti-communist activist who teamed up with his twin brother to take his country in a nationalist, conservative direction; he pursued a strongly pro-U.S. line in foreign relations, in accordance with a cross-party consensus that has grown in Poland since the fall of communism; and

WHEREAS, He first rose to fame as a child movie star, alongside his identical twin, in a hit movie in 1962, "Two Who Stole the Moon," about two troublemakers who try to get rich by stealing the moon and selling it; in the 1970s and 1980s, the Kaczynski brothers were activists in the anti-communist opposition and went on to serve as advisers to Solidarity founder Lech Walesa; he supported Walesa's presidential bid in 1990 and became the chief presidential adviser on security issues; and

WHEREAS, He served as Poland's justice minister in 2000-2001, and his tough stance against crime laid the foundations for the popularity that would fuel his later rise to the presidency; he became mayor of Warsaw in 2001, and won respect for a no-nonsense style and plain-speaking reputation; in seeking the presidency in 2005, he made clean government a key pledge; and

WHEREAS, President Kaczynski was a firm friend of Poland's Jewish community, which has enjoyed a revival in recent years after it was nearly wiped out in the Holocaust and later suffered from communist-era repression; in 2008, he became the first head of state to attend a religious service at a synagogue in Poland; as mayor, he promoted a planned museum on Jewish history by donating city land to the project; and

WHEREAS, President Kaczynski is survived by his daughter, Marta; his two granddaughters, Ewa and Martyna; his twin brother, Jaroslaw; and his mother, Jadwiga; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family, friends, the people of Poland, and people around the world, the passing of President Lech Kaczynski; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of President Lech Kaczynski as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.