SJ0055

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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, It is one of the privileges of the General 
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Assembly to pay due honor and respect to persons who serve our 
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country in time of war; and

 
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    WHEREAS, U.S. Army Specialist Ronald W. "Ron" Gebur, 
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formerly of Delavan, was killed in action in Iraq on May 13, 
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2006; he died of injuries sustained when a roadside bomb 
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detonated near his Humvee in Baghdad; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Specialist Gebur was assigned to the 1st 
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Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry 
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Division, Fort Hood, Texas; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Specialist Gebur, 23 years of age at the time of 
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his death, was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the 
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Purple Heart for his service; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Specialist Gebur was the first current or former 
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resident of Tazewell County to be killed in combat during 
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Operation Iraqi Freedom; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Specialist Gebur is survived by his widow, 
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Bethany, a former sergeant in the U.S. Army, and their 
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21-month-old son, Gage, and by his parents, Lawrence and Debra 
 


 






SJ0055
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LRB095 12083 DRH 36384 r




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Gebur of Delavan; and
 
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    WHEREAS, During a eulogy at Specialist Gebur's funeral, 
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Lieutenant Governor Patrick Quinn described the fallen soldier 
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as an "American hero"; and

 
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    WHEREAS, A portion of Illinois State Route 122 lies between 
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Delavan and Stanford, hometown of Bethany Gebur; therefore, be 
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it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
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CONCURRING HEREIN, that the portion of Illinois State Route 122 
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lying between Delavan and Stanford be designated the Ron W. 
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Gebur Memorial Highway; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation 
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is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with 
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State regulations, plaques or signs giving notice of the name; 
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and be it further
 
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    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be 
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presented to the Illinois Secretary of Transportation and to 
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the widow and parents of Specialist Ronald W. Gebur.