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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Charles | ||||||
| 4 | James "Charlie" Kirk, who died on September 10, 2025 after | ||||||
| 5 | being shot while speaking at a Turning Point USA event on the | ||||||
| 6 | campus of Utah Valley University; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Charlie Kirk, the son of Robert and Kimberly Ann | ||||||
| 8 | Kirk, was born in Arlington Heights on October 14, 1993; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Charlie Kirk attended Wheeling High School and | ||||||
| 10 | later studied at Harper College before leaving to pursue | ||||||
| 11 | public activism; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Charlie Kirk married Erika Lane Frantzve on May | ||||||
| 13 | 8, 2021, and he was the proud father of two children, a | ||||||
| 14 | three-year-old daughter and one-year-old son; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Charlie Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 | ||||||
| 16 | at the age of 18, launching the conservative advocacy group as | ||||||
| 17 | a shoestring campus effort and building it into a well-funded | ||||||
| 18 | national organization; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Charlie Kirk credited early mentorship from the | ||||||
| 20 | late Bill Montgomery, who helped him launch Turning Point USA; | ||||||
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| 1 | and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Charlie Kirk later created affiliated groups, | ||||||
| 3 | including Turning Point Action and Turning Point Faith; and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, Charlie Kirk hosted The Charlie Kirk Show on talk | ||||||
| 5 | radio, appeared regularly on media outlets, and addressed such | ||||||
| 6 | major political conferences as the 2022 Conservative Political | ||||||
| 7 | Action Conference (CPAC) and the 2024 Republican National | ||||||
| 8 | Convention; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Charlie Kirk authored multiple books, championed | ||||||
| 10 | free speech, and toured college campuses across the United | ||||||
| 11 | States to encourage political debate and free exercise of our | ||||||
| 12 | First Amendment Rights; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, Tragically, Charlie Kirk's life ended at the | ||||||
| 14 | young age of 31 while engaging in a debate of ideas in the | ||||||
| 15 | public square; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Charlie Kirk is survived by his wife, children, | ||||||
| 17 | and parents; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 18 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 19 | HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 20 | we mourn the passing of Charles James "Charlie" Kirk and | ||||||
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| 1 | extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all | ||||||
| 2 | who knew and loved him; and be it further | ||||||
| 3 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 4 | presented to the family of Charlie Kirk as an expression of our | ||||||
| 5 | deepest sympathy. | ||||||