SJ0030 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0030 LRB099 12947 MST 36807 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, James Howard "Jim" Thome played for 22 seasons from 1991 to 2012 for 6 Major League Baseball teams, including the Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, and Baltimore Orioles; and

WHEREAS, Jim Thome was born to parents Joyce and Charles Thome and raised in Peoria County; he began playing baseball with the West Peoria Little League and then moved on to Limestone Community High School in Bartonville, where he achieved All-State honors as a baseball shortstop; following his high school graduation, he played baseball at Illinois Central College in East Peoria for one season before being drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1989; and

WHEREAS, Jim Thome officially retired from the Cleveland Indians in 2014, accumulating a .276 batting average, 2,328 hits, 612 home runs, and 1,699 runs batted in; he is the 8th player in baseball history to reach 612 home runs; and

WHEREAS, Jim Thome accumulated the following career highlights: 5-time All Star in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, and 2006, the Silver Slugger Award in 1996, American League Comeback Player of the Year in 2006, the Roberto Clemente Award in 2002, and the National League home run champion in 2003; he was inducted into the Greater Peoria Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2015; and

WHEREAS, Jim Thome is known for his positive attitude and outgoing personality as well as his philanthropic activities, which have earned him 2 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Awards and the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award; he was also known for his willingness to sign autographs for fans; and

WHEREAS, Jim Thome now works in an executive position with the Chicago White Sox; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate Illinois Route 24, beginning at the intersection of South Adams Street and Illinois Route 24 in Bartonville and ending at the intersection of Griswold Street and Route 24 in Peoria, as the "Jim Thome Highway"; and be it further

RESOLVED, The Illinois Department of Transportation is requested to erect at suitable locations, as designated by the James Howard Thome Committee and consistent with State and Federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs giving notice of the name of the "Jim Thome Highway"; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation and James Howard "Jim" Thome.