Full Text of HR0251 96th General Assembly
HR0251 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives wish to recognize Brookfield Zoo's role as a | 4 |
| cultural, economic, and educational asset for the people of the | 5 |
| State of Illinois; and
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| WHEREAS, Brookfield Zoo will celebrate its 75th | 7 |
| anniversary this year; the zoo has welcomed more than 133 | 8 |
| million people and has cared for more than 110,000 animals | 9 |
| since it opened on July 1, 1934; and
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| WHEREAS, While Brookfield Zoo is a 216-acre gem that is | 11 |
| owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and | 12 |
| managed by the Chicago Zoological Society, it is also an | 13 |
| award-winning educational institution that reaches thousands | 14 |
| of students, teachers, and families each year; and
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| WHEREAS, At a 2008 White House ceremony, Brookfield Zoo was | 16 |
| awarded the prestigious National Medal for Museum and Library | 17 |
| Services for its outstanding social, environmental, economic, | 18 |
| and educational contributions; and
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| WHEREAS, Brookfield Zoo focuses much of its educational | 20 |
| programming in economically distressed, highly-urbanized areas | 21 |
| while engaging and nurturing at-risk youth; and
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| WHEREAS, Brookfield Zoo is working to inspire the next | 2 |
| generation of African-American and Latino conservation | 3 |
| leaders; and
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| WHEREAS, Brookfield Zoo is an example of the critical role | 5 |
| that accredited zoos play in utilizing managed breeding | 6 |
| programs to restore species that are endangered or extinct in | 7 |
| the wild; and
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| WHEREAS, Brookfield Zoo's conservationists are working to | 9 |
| restore species, including Amur tigers, black rhinos, and | 10 |
| Panama golden frogs, that have been decimated by poaching, | 11 |
| habitat destruction, and other human behaviors; and
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| WHEREAS, Brookfield Zoo has led international research | 13 |
| efforts on marine mammal life and coastal health through its | 14 |
| Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, the longest running dolphin | 15 |
| research program in the world; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, A new field of study called conservation | 17 |
| psychology was developed at Brookfield Zoo; conservation | 18 |
| psychology is the scientific study of the reciprocal | 19 |
| relationship between man and nature; and
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| WHEREAS, Brookfield Zoo has developed programs and |
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| exhibits around this field of study and around the need to | 2 |
| mitigate nature-deficit disorder in children; and
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| WHEREAS, In March of 2009, Brookfield Zoo awarded Richard | 4 |
| Louv, best-selling author of "Last Child in the Woods", its | 5 |
| coveted George B. Rabb Conservation Medal; Louv's book has | 6 |
| inspired Leave No Child Inside initiatives throughout the | 7 |
| country; and
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| WHEREAS, House Joint Resolution 27 of the 96th General | 9 |
| Assembly designates the month of June as "Leave No Child Inside | 10 |
| Month" in the State of Illinois; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, Brookfield Zoo is also a global leader in animal | 12 |
| care and well-being, having set new standards in these areas; | 13 |
| Brookfield Zoo's animals receive world-class care from | 14 |
| passionate keepers, dieticians, and veterinarians; and
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| WHEREAS, Although Brookfield Zoo has had many famous | 16 |
| animals over the years, there is one feathered resident who is | 17 |
| the most celebrated; Cookie, a Leadbeater's cockatoo, is at | 18 |
| least 75 years old and has been at the zoo since it opened in | 19 |
| 1934; Cookie has been the subject of hundreds of news articles | 20 |
| and stories and has been viewed by tens of millions of people; | 21 |
| Cookie still has visitors who come to see him every week; some | 22 |
| sing to him, while others carry on conversations with him; and |
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| WHEREAS, With 2.1 million annual visitors and 90,000 member | 2 |
| households, Brookfield Zoo is Illinois' most popular outdoor | 3 |
| cultural attraction and the third most popular recreational | 4 |
| destination for Chicago-area Latinos; guests from 35 countries | 5 |
| and 250,000 schoolchildren from 48 Illinois counties visited | 6 |
| the zoo in 2008; and
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| WHEREAS, In addition to being an educational institution, | 8 |
| Brookfield Zoo is an economic engine that pumps more than $150 | 9 |
| million a year into the Illinois economy while supporting 2,000 | 10 |
| jobs; and
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| WHEREAS, As Brookfield Zoo turns 75, so too does much of | 12 |
| its infrastructure; Brookfield Zoo is ready to move on worthy, | 13 |
| well-planned, and much-needed infrastructure projects that | 14 |
| will put people back to work and contribute to the economic | 15 |
| recovery of our State; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, With support from the General Assembly and the | 17 |
| Governor, Brookfield Zoo can improve, upgrade, and modernize | 18 |
| its 1930s-era infrastructure and, in doing so, continue to be | 19 |
| an award-winning educational institution, top tourism | 20 |
| attraction, and potent economic engine; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
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| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 2 |
| designate the date of July 1, 2009 as "Brookfield Zoo Day" in | 3 |
| the State of Illinois; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That we celebrate the 75th anniversary of this | 5 |
| world-famous Illinois zoo, its rich history, its unlimited | 6 |
| future, and its contributions as an economic, tourism, | 7 |
| conservation, and educational asset for the people of Illinois; | 8 |
| and be it further | 9 |
| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 10 |
| presented to Dr. George Rabb, Director Emeritus; Fred Krehbiel, | 11 |
| Chairman of the Board; and Dr. Stuart Strahl, President and | 12 |
| CEO.
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