Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0375
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Full Text of HR0375  100th General Assembly

HR0375 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY


  

 


 
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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to recognize milestone events in
4the lives of the citizens of the State; and
 
5    WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that the City of
6Rockford signed a Sister City agreement with Ferentino, Italy,
7an ancient hill town southeast of Rome, on May 15, 2006; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The tenth anniversary year of this historic event
9is being celebrated this year with several commemorative
10activities planned by the Rockford Italian Sister Cities
11Alliance (RISCA) in conjunction with the Greater Rockford
12Italian American Association (GRIAA); and
 
13    WHEREAS, Rockford has a substantial Italian American
14population that celebrates its ancestral heritage; immigrants
15to Rockford from Ferentino created the Society of Saint
16Ambrogio Martyr Mutual Benefit Society (The Saint Ambrogio
17Club) in 1918 that is still active today; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Efforts to create an Italian Sister City for
19Rockford began in 2005 through family ties between the
20DeCastris and Giorgi families in both Rockford and Ferentino
21and the diligent efforts of many citizens in those cities who

 

 

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1recognized and wished to formalize the enduring connections
2that have been maintained between the people of Rockford and
3the people of Ferentino for over a century; and
 
4    WHEREAS, An Italian Sister City Committee was formed in
5Rockford in 2005 to facilitate the ongoing communication
6between citizens and officials from Rockford and Ferentino so
7as to promote and support a Sister City agreement between the
8two cities; and the Committee is still very active; and
 
9    WHEREAS, A delegation of nine public officials from
10Ferentino's City Council and Pro Loco Association visited
11Rockford for a week in May of 2006 and participated in several
12official meetings and activities that culminated in the signing
13of a Sister City Agreement by Mayor Larry Morrissey of Rockford
14and Mayor Piergianni Fiorletta of Ferentino, Italy at
15Rockford's City Hall; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Italian Sister City activities have included
17international exchanges, student pen-pal programs, peace pole
18installations in Rockford and Ferentino, gift exchanges,
19creation of the Italian Sister City garden and plaque at
20Rockford's Keeling-Puri Peace Plaza, participation in the
21Rockford Sister Cities Advisory Commission, and cultural
22displays at the Rockford and Ferentino City Halls, Rockford's
23Festa Italiana, Midway Village Museum, and at the Ethnic

 

 

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1Heritage Museum; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The 10th anniversary of the Rockford and Ferentino
3Sister City Agreement has been recognized with proclamations
4from the City of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois;
5therefore, be it
 
6    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
7HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
8congratulate the citizens of Rockford and Ferentino, Italy on
9the occasion of the 10th anniversary of their Sister City
10partnership; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
12presented to the Cities of Rockford and Ferentino, and
13representatives of the Rockford Italian Sister Cities Alliance
14and the Greater Rockford Italian American Association as an
15expression of our esteem and respect.