HR1248 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1248 LRB094 20383 HSS 58534 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, On Wednesday, June 7, 2006, Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet will celebrate the opening of its Evon D. and Jack H. Keck Emergency Care Pavilion; and

WHEREAS, Mr. and Mrs. Keck generously pledged a gift of $1,000,000 toward the funding of the emergency department's expansion; and

WHEREAS, The new emergency department facility will have the capacity to care for 60,000 patients annually; currently, the hospital sees more than 46,000 patients a year in a space originally built over 15 years ago for 25,000; with 30,000 square feet, the new facility will have 26 treatment and six observation beds, a dedicated CT scanner, a second X-ray room, and a second family consulting room; there will be four trauma rooms, and the rooms for sexual assault patients have been improved by adding in-room showering and toilet facilities for use after an examination; and

WHEREAS, A separate waiting area is also being added for children, with amenities like video games, flat screen HDTVs with VCR/DVDs, and an aquarium that will catch the attention of children and make the wait a little bit easier for parents; another area will have stations where people can sit with their laptop computers and have free wireless access to the Internet; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Keck is a former partner of William Keck and Sons Electric Company and original founder of the Joliet Equipment Corporation, which is today, one of the largest motor repair and sales companies in the Midwest; he was a successful businessman, selling the largest motors ever built to Pacific Steel; when most people his age were thinking about enjoying retirement, at age 65 Mr. Keck bought the Wisconsin Steel Mill, dismantled it in the middle of winter, and moved it to Joliet to be cleaned and sold; and

WHEREAS, In addition to their business accomplishments, the Kecks raised two children, Ricky and Cynthia; today, they enjoy time spent with granddaughter Daphne Engle and her husband Kelly Meek as well as grandson Sean Keck, his wife Donna, and great-grandchildren Cynthia and Isabelle; they have also supported the Mayo Clinic, Children's Memorial Hospital, and United Cerebral Palsy; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize Evon D. and Jack H. Keck on the occasion of the opening of the Evon D. and Jack H. Keck Emergency Care Pavilion at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, and we thank them for their generosity to the emergency department expansion project; and be it further

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