Bill Text: IL HR0715 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, and declares January 25, 2020 as "Kobe Bryant Day".
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-23 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HR0715 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-HR0715-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of NBA | ||||||
4 | superstar Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, on January 26, | ||||||
5 | 2020; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, | ||||||
7 | Pennsylvania to Joe and Pamela Cox Bryant on August 23, 1978; | ||||||
8 | when he was six, his family moved to Italy, and he spent many | ||||||
9 | of his formative years there learning Italian and playing | ||||||
10 | soccer; he returned to the U.S. during the summers to play in | ||||||
11 | basketball summer leagues; he earned national recognition | ||||||
12 | while playing basketball at Lower Merion High School in | ||||||
13 | Ardmore, Pennsylvania, where he played on the varsity | ||||||
14 | basketball team as a freshman; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Kobe Bryant joined the NBA directly from high | ||||||
16 | school and played his entire 20-season professional career with | ||||||
17 | the Los Angeles Lakers, his favorite team while growing up; and
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18 | WHEREAS, During his career, Kobe Bryant won five NBA | ||||||
19 | championships (2000–2002, 2009, 2010); he was an 18-time | ||||||
20 | All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time | ||||||
21 | member of the All-Defensive Team; he was named the 2008 NBA | ||||||
22 | Most Valuable Player and was a two-time NBA Finals MVP; he led |
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1 | the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the | ||||||
2 | league's all-time regular season scoring, and ranks fourth on | ||||||
3 | the all-time postseason scoring list; he is also a two-time | ||||||
4 | Gold Medal Winner with the U.S. Men's Basketball Team (2008 | ||||||
5 | Beijing, 2012 London);
he is widely regarded as one of the | ||||||
6 | greatest basketball players of all time; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 60 points against | ||||||
8 | Utah in his last NBA game on April 13, 2016, outscoring the | ||||||
9 | entire Jazz team 23–21 in the fourth quarter in a Lakers' | ||||||
10 | victory; he became the oldest player to score 60 or more points | ||||||
11 | in a game at 37 years and 234 days old; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Kobe Bryant said that he wanted more out of life | ||||||
13 | than just a successful basketball career; he married Vanessa | ||||||
14 | Laine at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana | ||||||
15 | Point, California on April 18, 2001, and they had four | ||||||
16 | daughters, Natalia, Gianna, Vanessa, and Capri; his daughter, | ||||||
17 | Gianna, had a passion for basketball, and he enjoyed sharing | ||||||
18 | his love of basketball with her; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Gianna Maria Onore Bryant, also referred to as | ||||||
20 | Gigi, was born on May 1, 2006; she considered her Kobe a role | ||||||
21 | model and cited him as a reason she wanted to play in the WNBA; | ||||||
22 | she played youth basketball for the Mamba Sports Academy, where | ||||||
23 | she was coached by her father; she wanted to play college |
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1 | basketball at the University of Connecticut and regularly | ||||||
2 | attended UConn, WNBA, and Lakers games with Kobe; she had a | ||||||
3 | very close relationship with her father and was usually by his | ||||||
4 | side; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Kobe Bryant was the official ambassador for | ||||||
6 | After-School All-Stars, an American non-profit organization | ||||||
7 | that provides comprehensive after-school programs to children; | ||||||
8 | he also started the Kobe Bryant China Fund, which raises money | ||||||
9 | within China for education and health programs; on November 4, | ||||||
10 | 2010, he was part of a group that presented a $1 million check | ||||||
11 | to the Call of Duty Endowment, a nonprofit organization that | ||||||
12 | helps veterans transition to civilian careers after their | ||||||
13 | military service has ended; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Together with his wife, Kobe Bryant founded the | ||||||
15 | Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation, a charity dedicated | ||||||
16 | to improving the lives of youth and families in need; the | ||||||
17 | foundation supports programs that strengthen communities and | ||||||
18 | promote mutual understanding among people around the world; and
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19 | WHEREAS, In 2018, Kobe Bryant became the first African | ||||||
20 | American to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film | ||||||
21 | and the first former professional athlete to be nominated and | ||||||
22 | to win an Academy Award in any category for his film Dear | ||||||
23 | Basketball; on October 23, 2018, his book, The Mamba Mentality: |
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1 | How I Play, was published, and most recently, he was working on | ||||||
2 | a children's book aimed at inspiring underprivileged children; | ||||||
3 | therefore, be it
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4 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
5 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
6 | we mourn the passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, | ||||||
7 | and extend our sincere condolences to their family, friends, | ||||||
8 | and all who knew and loved them; and be it further
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9 | RESOLVED, That we declare January 25, 2020 as "Kobe Bryant | ||||||
10 | Day" in the State of Illinois; and be it further
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11 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
12 | presented to the family of Kobe and Gianna Bryant as a symbol | ||||||
13 | of our deepest sympathy.
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