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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of |
| 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate John Cruz on the occasion |
| 4 | | of his retirement as a baseball coach after 51 years; and
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| 5 | | WHEREAS, Coach Cruz was born to Rafael and Mary |
| 6 | | (Hernandez) Cruz in Spring Valley on September 15, 1949; he |
| 7 | | was one of 14 children; he graduated from DePue High School in |
| 8 | | 1969; and
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| 9 | | WHEREAS, Outside of baseball, Coach Cruz worked at Libbey |
| 10 | | Owens, later renamed Pilkington, for 42 years from 1974 to |
| 11 | | 2015; and
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| 12 | | WHEREAS, Coach Cruz began his 51-year coaching career with |
| 13 | | the Spring Valley Youth Baseball Program in 1972; he proceeded |
| 14 | | to coach various travel programs; he then served under Coach |
| 15 | | Bob Koopmann, assisting in coaching baseball at Illinois |
| 16 | | Valley Community College, Ashford University in Iowa, and |
| 17 | | Rockford University; and
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| 18 | | WHEREAS, Coach Cruz returned to the Illinois Valley to |
| 19 | | coach the Princeton High School boys baseball team, the |
| 20 | | Tigers, in 2009, leading the team to its most productive |
| 21 | | two-year run with an overall record of 46-15; he then coached |
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| 1 | | the Putnam County High School boys baseball team, the |
| 2 | | Panthers, for two years before coaching the freshmen baseball |
| 3 | | team at LaSalle-Peru High School; and
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| 4 | | WHEREAS, Coach Cruz joined the coaching staff of the Hall |
| 5 | | High School freshmen and sophomore boys baseball team, the Red |
| 6 | | Demons, in Spring Valley in 2020, where he has coached for the |
| 7 | | past four years; his last game as coach with the Red Demons |
| 8 | | ended with a 20-6 victory, with the team winning their final 10 |
| 9 | | games, finishing 21-6 overall; and
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| 10 | | WHEREAS, Coach Cruz has coached and mentored countless |
| 11 | | young players during his 51 years of coaching and left a deep |
| 12 | | impression at each place he has served; and
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| 13 | | WHEREAS, Coach Cruz has expressed plans to watch his |
| 14 | | grandchildren play baseball post-retirement; and
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| 15 | | WHEREAS, Coach Cruz is the husband of Christine (Andreoni) |
| 16 | | Cruz, and they have four children, Craig, Lisa, Mary Rae, and |
| 17 | | Billy; therefore, be it
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| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE |
| 19 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
| 20 | | we congratulate John Cruz on the occasion of his retirement as |
| 21 | | a baseball coach after 51 years, and we thank him for his |