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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, By the middle of January of 2006, a familiar face 
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in the Statehouse will take a long-deserved break and his voice 
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will be missing from the airwaves; Ben Kiningham, Springfield 
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Bureau Chief for the Illinois Radio Network, has announced his 
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retirement; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Kiningham was born in Fort Riley, Kansas, in 
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1942; he graduated from Springfield High School in 1960 and 
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attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he 
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studied radio-TV and started his broadcasting career as a 
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volunteer at WSIU; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He enlisted in the military in late 1964, serving 
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in the Illinois Air National Guard; some years later, he served 
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as public affairs staff officer for the 183rd Tactical Fighter 
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Group; he retired from the 183rd with the rank of lieutenant 
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colonel after 22 years in the military; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He began his broadcast career in Springfield at 
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WTAX, where he was hired on January 24, 1966; since 1974, when 
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he succeeded Bill Miller as Statehouse Bureau
Chief for the 
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Capital Information Bureau, he has kept radio listeners 
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apprised of developments in
Illinois government and politics; 
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and

 
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    WHEREAS, He is past president of the Illinois News 
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Broadcasters Association (INBA) and the Illinois Legislative 
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Correspondents Association; he received a lifetime achievement 
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award from the INBA and has received several news awards from 
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media organizations, including the AP, UPI, and the National 
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Association of State Radio Networks; in 2004, he was named 
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alumnus of the year by the radio-televsion department at SIU-C; 
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and
 
 


 






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    WHEREAS, His affiliations stretch to the private sector, 
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and he is a past chair of the American Lung Association 
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Christmas Seal campaign downstate and a former elder in Central 
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Presbyterian Church in Petersburg; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Kiningham has spent more than 10 years hosting 
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"CapitolView with Ben Kiningham", a public affairs program, 
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with a panel of reporters discussing the latest political 
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events in the State; and
 
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    WHEREAS, During his retirement, he plans to stay active in 
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his hobbies of amateur radio and photography, and he and his 
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wife, Beth, hope to travel, including visits to their children 
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in Wisconsin and Arizona; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
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on the occasion of his retirement, we congratulate Mr. Ben 
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Kiningham, who has exemplified the highest ideals of journalism 
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and community responsibility and whose voice will truly be 
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missed; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to Mr. Kiningham with our sincerest best wishes for 
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his future.