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91_HJ0002
LRB9102190JMpc
1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, On February 6, 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan was
3 born to Nelle and John Reagan in Tampico, Illinois; he
4 attended high school in nearby Dixon and then worked his way
5 through Eureka College; at Eureka College, he studied
6 economics and sociology, played on the football team, and
7 acted in school plays; upon graduation, he became a radio
8 sports announcer; a screen test in 1937 won him a contract in
9 Hollywood and during the next two decades he appeared in 53
10 films; and
11 WHEREAS, As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan
12 became embroiled in disputes over the issue of Communism in
13 the film industry; his political views shifted from liberal
14 to conservative; he toured the country as a television host,
15 becoming a spokesman for conservatism; in 1966 he was
16 elected Governor of California by a margin of a million
17 votes; he was re-elected in 1970; and
18 WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan won the Republican Presidential
19 nomination in 1980 and chose as his running mate former
20 Texas Congressman and United Nations Ambassador George Bush;
21 voters troubled by inflation and by the year-long confinement
22 of Americans in Iran swept the Republican ticket into
23 office; and
24 WHEREAS, On January 20, 1981, Reagan took office; only 69
25 days later he was shot by a would-be assassin but quickly
26 recovered and returned to duty; his grace and wit during the
27 dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar; and
28 WHEREAS, Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan
29 obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb
30 inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national
31 defense; he embarked upon a course of cutting taxes and
32 government expenditures, refusing to deviate from his course
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1 when the strengthening of defense forces led to a large
2 deficit; and
3 WHEREAS, A renewal of national self-confidence by 1984
4 helped Reagan and Bush win a second term with an
5 unprecedented number of electoral votes; and
6 WHEREAS, In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of the
7 income tax code that eliminated many deductions and exempted
8 millions of people with low incomes; at the end of his
9 administration, the nation was enjoying its longest recorded
10 period of peacetime prosperity without recession or
11 depression; and
12 WHEREAS, In foreign policy, Reagan sought to achieve
13 "peace through strength"; in dramatic meetings with Soviet
14 leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated a treaty that would
15 eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles; Reagan
16 declared war against international terrorism, sending
17 American bombers against Libya after evidence came out that
18 Libya was involved in an attack on American soldiers in a
19 West Berlin nightclub; and
20 WHEREAS, By ordering naval escorts in the Persian Gulf,
21 he maintained the free flow of oil during the Iran-Iraq war;
22 in keeping with the Reagan Doctrine, he gave support to
23 anti-Communist insurgencies in Central America, Asia, and
24 Africa; and
25 WHEREAS, At the end of his two terms in office, Ronald
26 Reagan viewed with satisfaction the achievements of his
27 innovative program known as the Reagan Revolution, which
28 aimed to reinvigorate the American people and reduce their
29 reliance upon government; he felt he had fulfilled his
30 campaign pledge of 1980 to restore "the great, confident
31 roar of American progress and growth and optimism"; and
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1 WHEREAS, The Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity
2 and the goal of peace through strength was within the
3 nations's grasp; and
4 WHEREAS, Ulysses Simpson (U.S. "Unconditional Surrender")
5 Grant was the best-known Federal general in the United States
6 Civil War; because of his military prowess and daring, he
7 helped to shorten the time of that great and bitter conflict;
8 and
9 WHEREAS, U.S. Grant's exploits in the Civil War earned
10 him the Republican nomination and ultimately 2 terms as the
11 18th President of the United States; as President, he pushed
12 for conciliation toward the South, sought unconditional
13 readmission of Virginia to the Union, relentlessly opposed
14 the Ku Klux Klan in his ever stalwart detestation of slavery
15 and its aftermath, and established a strong record in foreign
16 affairs; and
17 WHEREAS, Although dying of throat cancer, he wrote his
18 now classic memoirs in an effort to support his family and to
19 guarantee that they would be provided for upon his death; and
20 WHEREAS, U.S. Grant died on July 23, 1885, and his body
21 was finally laid to rest amidst much pomp, circumstance,
22 parades, and speeches; and
23 WHEREAS, Illinois is where U.S. Grant lived, worked, and
24 spent many happy days in the municipality of Galena; and it
25 is only fitting and proper that this great General and
26 President who played such a critical role in saving the
27 Republic should be duly honored and commemorated by the
28 gracious people of this State to whom Grant brought so much
29 glory; therefore, be it
30 RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
31 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
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1 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the General Assembly
2 and the Governor to pass and approve appropriations to the
3 Secretary of State for the purpose of commissioning statues
4 of Ronald Reagan and U.S. Grant to be placed on the grounds
5 of the State Capitol; and be it further
6 RESOLVED, That we urge all elected State officers of the
7 executive and legislative branches to seek private
8 contributions for the project; and be it further
9 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
10 delivered to the Governor, the Secretary of State, and all
11 elected State officers of the executive and legislative
12 branches.