HR0898 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0898 LRB094 19473 HSS 55275 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of this Body are honored to recognize significant milestones in the lives of the people of this State; and

WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that Mr. Harry Berger of Lincolnwood is celebrating the 90th anniversary of his birth; and

WHEREAS, Harry Berger was born on March 26, 1916, in Hungary; during World War II, he and his family were forcibly removed from their homes and taken by the Nazis to live in a crowded Jewish ghetto; not long after, he and other men his age were taken by German and Hungarian soldiers to work as slave laborers for the balance of the war; and

WHEREAS, After he was liberated by American soldiers, he was unable to return to his home because it was then under Russian control; he obtained a temporary visa to live and work in Brussels, Belgium; it was there that he met Helen Berger, a survivor of Auschwitz, with whom he will celebrate 58 years of marriage on February 28, 2006; and

WHEREAS, Mr. and Mrs. Berger, along with their two and a half year old son, Robert, migrated to the United States in 1952, settling in the Albany Park neighborhood in Chicago; they became naturalized citizens in 1957; they had a daughter, Margaret, in 1954, and realized the American dream, purchasing their own home in the Rogers Park neighborhood, where they lived until 1992; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Berger worked as a tailor at Broadlane Clothiers in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago from the time he arrived in the United States until the store closed in approximately 1980; he then worked for Lytton's and then Mark Shale on Michigan Avenue, where he was awarded Employee of the Year honors before retiring in 1995; and

WHEREAS, In addition to having worked hard to provide for his family, Mr. Berger made time and worked tirelessly for many good causes in the service of others; he served on the Synagogue Board and Men's Club Board of Congregation Eras Israel in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago and served two terms as President of the Men's Club and two terms as President of the Congregation; more amazing is that he served as President of the Congregation when he was in his mid-eighties; and

WHEREAS, He was also a Board Member and two term President of the Zionist Organization of Chicago (ZOC), the Chicago chapter of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA); in 1996, the ZOC honored Mr. and Mrs. Berger with the State of Israel Award for their long-time commitment and service to the organization and to the State of Israel; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Berger has also helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the State of Israel; in 2001, he and his wife were honored at an Israel Bond Luncheon that raised over one half million dollars in Israel bonds; he has supported many other Jewish charities including the JUF; and

WHEREAS, One of his great pleasures in life has been sports; as a young boy in Hungary, he loved to play soccer; in his new home, he came to understand and love baseball, football, and basketball; he loves the White Sox, Cubs, Bears, and Bulls and would often attend games on Sundays, his one day off of work; his joy was immeasurable when his beloved White Sox finally won the World Series last fall; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Mr. Harry Berger on the occasion of his 90th birthday, and we extend to him our sincere best wishes for the future; and be it further

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