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1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The football teams of the United States Naval
3 Academy at Annapolis and the United States Military Academy
4 at West Point meet annually for what is simply known as the
5 Army/Navy football game; and
6 WHEREAS, The Army/Navy football rivalry, which began in
7 1890 with a game played at West Point in which Navy beat Army
8 by a score of 24-0, has become and has continued to be one of
9 the greatest rivalries in American sports history; and
10 WHEREAS, At the 103rd and most recent Army/Navy football
11 game, which took place December 7, 2002 at Giants Stadium in
12 East Rutherford, New Jersey, over 78,000 fans attended the
13 event in which Navy beat Army by a score of 58-12; and
14 WHEREAS, Soldier Field, which was opened officially on
15 October 9, 1924 as a monument to American soldiers who have
16 died in wars, was officially dedicated on November 27, 1926
17 during the 29th meeting of the Army and Navy football teams
18 at which over 100,000 fans were in attendance to see the game
19 which ended in a 21-21 tie for which Navy was awarded the
20 national championship; and
21 WHEREAS, The renovation of Soldier Field, with seating
22 for over 63,000 fans, located in the heart of downtown
23 Chicago will be complete in time for the 105th meeting of the
24 Army and Navy football teams; and
25 WHEREAS, Chicago is the nation's highway and air hub due
26 to its central location in the United States with easy access
27 for fans and tourists from all corners of our nation and due
28 to the two major airports, O'Hare and Midway, located within
29 mere miles of Soldier Field, that serve almost 100 million
30 passengers annually using over 40 airlines making over 3,300
31 flights to and from Chicago each day; and
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1 WHEREAS, Downtown Chicago is home to over 28,000 hotel
2 rooms and thousands of world-class restaurants, all of which
3 either neighbor or are within walking distance of Michigan
4 Avenue and its world-famous shopping opportunities, Navy Pier
5 and its nightly entertainment, and the Sears Tower which is
6 one of the world's tallest skyscrapers; and
7 WHEREAS, Illinois is home to approximately 950,000
8 military veterans, tens of thousands of men and women who
9 serve in our nation's armed forces and the Illinois National
10 Guard, and just over 1,800 graduates of the United States
11 Naval and Military Academies, 949 of whom attended the Naval
12 Academy and 854 of whom attended the Military Academy, whose
13 hard work, dedication, and sacrifice to the United States and
14 the State of Illinois would make it a pleasure to honor them
15 by hosting future meetings of the football teams of Army and
16 Navy; therefore, be it
17 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
19 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the elected representatives of
20 the House of Representatives and Senate, on behalf of the
21 City of Chicago and the entire State of Illinois,
22 respectfully request the honor to host the 105th and
23 subsequent meetings of the football teams of Army and Navy,
24 and the honor to host the cadets of both academies in
25 addition to the hundreds of thousands of fans, families,
26 supporters of both teams and Academies; and be it further
27 RESOLVED, That the members of the House and Senate are
28 committed to assisting the City of Chicago to meet any
29 challenge and cover any expense necessary to allow the 105th
30 and subsequent meetings of the Army and Navy football teams
31 to be held in the State of Illinois; and be it further
32 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
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1 furnished to the men and women of the United States Naval
2 Academy at Annapolis and the United States Military Academy
3 at West Point, the City of Chicago, and each member of the
4 Illinois Congressional delegation.