Bill Text: IL SR1242 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Recognizes President Ronald Reagan and requests a statue be placed in the Illinois State Capitol Building or on the surrounding grounds in his honor.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)

Status: (Failed) 2015-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SR1242 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-SR1242-Introduced.html

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SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Ronald Wilson Reagan "Dutch" (1911-2004), the
40th President of the United States, is the only U.S. President
born, raised, and educated in the State of Illinois; and
WHEREAS, President Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in
Tampico; his family lived for a time in Chicago, Galesburg, and
Monmouth, before settling in Dixon; he earned his degree in
economics and sociology from Eureka College in Central Illinois
in 1932; after college, he started as a radio sports announcer
in the Quad Cities; and
WHEREAS, President Reagan moved to Hollywood and achieved
success as a film and television actor, union president for the
Screen Actors Guild, and as corporate spokesman for General
Electric; he moved into politics and spent 2 terms as Governor
of California (1967-1975) and 2 terms as President of the
United States (1981-1989); and
WHEREAS, President Reagan returned to his home State
throughout every stage of his life; he visited his birthplace,
his hometown, and his alma mater, Eureka College; he never
forgot his Illinois and Midwestern roots; and
WHEREAS, President Reagan's connection to Illinois is

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celebrated all over the State; Eureka College is home to
"Reagan Forward" and the Ronald W. Reagan Society, whose
national membership helps fund scholarships for Reagan
Fellows, a museum, a peace garden, a speaker series, a Run with
Reagan 5k, and the Mark R. Shenkman Reagan Research Center,
housing every book on the 40th President; Dixon is home to the
Reagan Boyhood Home and the Dixon Historic Center, a riverfront
statue of him on a horse, the First Christian Church where he
was baptized, an annual festival, and the beach at Lowell Park
where he was a lifeguard; Tampico operates a museum and
historic site where visitors can stand in the apartment flat
where he was born and see a statue of him as a boy; a section of
Interstate 88 is named in his honor, and The Reagan Trail is a
designated tourism corridor connecting key points of his
Illinois experience; and
WHEREAS, President Reagan is remembered as one of the most
consequential world leaders of the 20th century; his commitment
to peace through strength helped in the defeat of the Soviet
Union, thus ending the Cold War and bringing greater freedom to
millions of people; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize and honor
the impact President Ronald Reagan had on the State, the
country, and the world; and be it further

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RESOLVED, That we request the Architect of the Capitol
place a statue of President Reagan in the Illinois State
Capitol Building or on the surrounding grounds; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the statue shall be funded with private
donations; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to the Architect of the Capitol.