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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the 
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State of Illinois congratulate the Polish National Alliance 
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(PNA) on its 125th anniversary; this occasion offers 
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opportunities to appreciate the organization's six-plus 
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generations of dedication and achievement as a fraternal 
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benefit society and premier community "mover and shaker"; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The observance will commence officially on 
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February 15, 2005 with a civic event in Philadelphia and a 
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Special Mass in Chicago; and

 
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    WHEREAS, For 125 years, the leadership and the members of 
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the PNA have exercised potent influence in patriotic, civic, 
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educational, social, cultural, and charitable causes that 
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elevate the esteem of Polish heritage; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The PNA was formed in 1880 in Philadelphia and 
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Chicago by patriots whose aim was to unite the members of the 
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Polish immigrant community in America behind the twin causes of 
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Poland's independence and their own advancement into the 
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mainstream of American society; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 1881, the PNA set up its own newspaper, Zgoda, 
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to promote its objectives to the larger community; in 1885, it 
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established an insurance program for the material benefit of 
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all who wished to join the Alliance, and from the early 1890s 
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onward, it created a variety of programs aimed at enlightening 
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the members of the Polish population in the United States about 
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their heritage and their citizen rights and obligations as 
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Americans; to further advance these aims, the PNA established 
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its own daily newspaper in Chicago, Dziennik Zwiazkowy, known 
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today as The Polish Daily News; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Today, the PNA is proud of its record of serving 
 


 






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the insurance needs of the more than two million men, women, 
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and children who have been in its ranks since 1880; it is proud 
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of its work on behalf of all Americans, Polish and non-Polish 
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alike, in promoting citizenship participation in the life of 
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the United States; it is proud to promote the enlightenment of 
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its members and their fellow Americans about the heritage of 
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Poland through Zgoda, The Polish Daily News, its Chicago radio 
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station, WPNA, its two banks, its website, its involvement in 
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the Polish American Congress, the National Fraternal Congress, 
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and other organizations, and the benevolent and charitable 
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activities of its members throughout the country; therefore, be 
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it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
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we congratulate the Polish National Alliance on the occasion of 
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its 125th anniversary celebration; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the Polish National Alliance as an expression of 
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our esteem.