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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Ronald
4Edward Santo, who passed away at the age of 70 on December 3,
52010; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Ron Santo was born on February 25, 1940, in
7Seattle, Washington; he was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at
8the age of 18; in 1959, he signed with the Chicago Cubs; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In his 14 years with the Cubs and his final season
10with the White Sox, Ron Santo hit .277 with 2,254 hits, 342
11home runs, and 1,331 runs batted in; he was named to Major
12League Baseball's All-Star team 9 times and won the Rawlings
13Gold Glove award 5 times; he hit .300 or better 4 times, had
14the best on-base percentage in the league in 1964 and 1966, and
15led the league in walks 4 times; in 2003, he was honored by the
16Cubs, who retired his No. 10 jersey and hoisted it up the
17left-field foul pole just below Banks' No. 14; in 2007, he
18received 57 votes from the National Baseball Veterans'
19Committee for induction into the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame;
20and
 
21    WHEREAS, Playing for the Chicago Cubs from 1960 to 1973 and
22then for a final season with the Chicago White Sox in 1974, Ron

 

 

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1Santo would return to the baseball world 16 years later as a
2broadcaster in the WGN-AM radio booth, where he was nominated
3as one of ten finalists for the 2005 Ford C. Frick Award, the
4Hall of Fame's highest broadcast honor; and
 
5    WHEREAS, As he did throughout his baseball career, Ron
6Santo continued dealing with the effects of diabetes throughout
7his life; he created the Juvenile Diabetes Research
8Foundation's annual Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes, which has
9been held in Chicago since 1974 and has helped raise over $50
10million for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF);
11in 2002, he was named the Juvenile Diabetes Research
12Foundation's "Person of the Year"; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Ron Santo is survived by his wife, Vicki; his
14children, Ron Jr., Jeff, Linda, and Kelly; and his 2
15grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
18mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Ron
19Santo; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21presented to the family of Ron Santo as a symbol of our sincere
22sympathy.