HR0436 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0436 LRB101 12698 ALS 61365 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Reverend Ruben I. Cruz on the occasion of his retirement from Chicago's First Spanish Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and his many years of work and service in the Latino community throughout Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Since 1964, Reverend Cruz has served as the Lead Pastor of Chicago's Christian Church, the oldest protestant Spanish-speaking congregation in Chicago; and

WHEREAS, In Chicago, Reverend Cruz is known for his media presence, which started with WMAQ-TV, Channel 5, Everyman Program of the Church Federation of Greater Chicago in the mid 1960s; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Cruz joined WLS-TV, Channel 7, as producer of the "Oiga Amigo" show, the first television program on WLS-TV that addressed the needs of the Hispanic community in the Chicagoland area; he co-hosted "Ayuda," a Spanish-language television program on WCIU-TV, and hosted "Esta Semana," a community affairs television program on Fox Chicago; he has participated in a series of interviews on WMBI, Radio Esperanza, the Spanish-language program of the Moody Broadcasting System, about the political involvement of Hispanics; and

WHEREAS, In the late 1970s, Reverend Cruz wrote a column in Spanish for the Chicago Sun-Times; it was the first of its kind to be published in a major newspaper in a metropolitan area in the United States; and

WHEREAS, In 1983, Reverend Cruz was the first Latino to give the invocation at the Illinois House of Representatives Inauguration, where he began in Spanish and then translated the invocation into English; he accepted an invitation to give the invocation at the 2003 Inauguration; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Cruz has served on many boards and commissions, including the Governor of Puerto Rico's Advisory Council on Mainland Puerto Rican Affairs, the Chicago Community Coordinated Child Care Committee, the Communication Commission of the Church Federation of Greater Chicago, the Easter Society, the Lincoln Park Zoological Society, the Chicago UNICEF Committee, the Chicago Area Literacy and Reading Centers, Inc., and the Commission of the Council of Hispanic American Ministers USA; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Cruz has been appointed to the Illinois Arts Council by Governor Dan Walker, where he served as Chairman of the Media Panel, the State of Illinois' first Spanish Speaking People's Study Commission by Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Robert Blair, and the Board of Health of the City of Chicago by Mayor Richard J. Daley; he was a founding member and chairman of the Board of Directors of ASPIRA, an organization devoted to helping Hispanics enter college and continue their higher education; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Cruz has received many awards and commendations, including being inducted as the first lifetime member of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois, a society that honors individuals whose contributions to the betterment of humanity have been accomplished on behalf of Illinois; he has received the Centro Romero Lifetime Achievement Award and the Governor's Citation of the Chicago Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Science for his programs about Chicago's Hispanic Americans; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Reverend Ruben I. Cruz on his retirement from Chicago's First Spanish Christian Church and commend his 55 years of service to the congregation and the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Reverend Cruz as an expression of our esteem and respect.