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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Blake James Dale Kinnett of Alvin, Illinois is a | ||||||
| 3 | strong-willed, independent, and hard-working high school | ||||||
| 4 | student; he is the son of John and Becky Kinnett and has two | ||||||
| 5 | siblings, a sister, Kaitlyn, and a brother, Garet; he attended | ||||||
| 6 | Bismarck Henning Rossville Alvin Cooperative High School, | ||||||
| 7 | where he enjoyed playing football and basketball for the Blue | ||||||
| 8 | Devils; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Blake Kinnett has always had a passion for sports, | ||||||
| 10 | especially baseball and basketball; he was a two-time State | ||||||
| 11 | Champion in baseball by the age of 12 and played baseball in | ||||||
| 12 | Cooperstown, New York with the Iliana Chiefs team which placed | ||||||
| 13 | 21st out of 130 teams; during this time, he was a source of | ||||||
| 14 | inspiration for his teammates, as he played baseball despite | ||||||
| 15 | having a broken arm; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, In addition to being an accomplished baseball | ||||||
| 17 | player, Blake Kinnett enjoyed playing basketball in Alvin, | ||||||
| 18 | where a community court has been renamed Kinnett's Court in his | ||||||
| 19 | honor; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, When he was not busy playing sports, Blake Kinnett | ||||||
| 21 | could be found spending time with his friends, and family, | ||||||
| 22 | riding around on his golf cart, fishing, or hunting turkeys; | ||||||
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| 1 | and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, In February 2017, Blake Kinnett was diagnosed with | ||||||
| 3 | Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a genetic disease that destroys | ||||||
| 4 | the protective myelin sheath that surrounds the brain's | ||||||
| 5 | neurons; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, ALD affects 1 in 18,000 people, mostly boys and | ||||||
| 7 | men; there is no cure for ALD; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, In the wake of Blake Kinnett's diagnosis, the | ||||||
| 9 | community of Alvin has been incredibly generous and supportive | ||||||
| 10 | of him and his family; therefore, be it
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| 11 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 12 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we commend Blake | ||||||
| 13 | Kinnett for his courage and determination in the face of his | ||||||
| 14 | ALD diagnosis; and be it further
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| 15 | RESOLVED, That we also commend the Kinnett family and the | ||||||
| 16 | community of Alvin for their unwavering support of Blake; and | ||||||
| 17 | be it further | ||||||
| 18 | RESOLVED, That we declare December 1, 2018 as "Blake | ||||||
| 19 | Kinnett Day" in the State of Illinois to help raise awareness | ||||||
| 20 | of ALD; and be it further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | presented to Blake Kinnett and his family as a symbol of our | ||||||
| 3 | esteem and respect.
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