HR0476 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, In October 2007, William Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz, was named Chairman of the Chicago Blackhawks, following his late father William W. Wirtz; and

WHEREAS, In his role as Chairman of the Chicago Blackhawks, Rocky Wirtz oversees all aspect of the Blackhawks operations; and

WHEREAS, Rocky Wirtz had the wisdom and vision to promote John McDonough to the position of President and CEO on June 1, 2011; John McDonough started with the organization as President in 2007; and

WHEREAS, Under the leadership of Rocky Wirtz and John McDonough, the Chicago Blackhawks have had the largest percentage of fan base growth among all teams in the 4 major sports leagues over the past 5 years, have had over 220 consecutive sellouts, and have increased their season ticket base to over 14,000; and

WHEREAS, The organization placed their trust in Stan Bowman as general manager and Joel Quenneville as head coach; and

WHEREAS, Rocky Wirtz, John McDonough, Stan Bowman, and Joel Quenneville worked together to assemble a Blackhawks team that set the National Hockey League record for points to start a season and won the President's Trophy for earning the best regular season record in the league; and

WHEREAS, On June 24, 2013, the Chicago Blackhawks won their fifth Stanley Cup by beating the Boston Bruins, in one of the most exciting NHL final series ever; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we honor the sports ownership and executive leadership of William Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz, owner of the Chicago Blackhawks franchise, upon the hoisting by the Blackhawks of the 2013 Stanley Cup in acknowledgement of their position as the champions of North American ice hockey; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we honor the entire Wirtz family for their roles as owners in Chicago professional sports and leaders of the Illinois business community, and anchors and developers of Chicago's West Side; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to William Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz as a expression of our appreciation for the leadership role of the Wirtz family, and for the performance of excellence demonstrated by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013.