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| 1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, It is highly fitting that the Illinois General
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| 3 | Assembly pays honor and respect to the truly great individuals
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| 4 | who have served our country and, in doing so, have made the
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| 5 | ultimate sacrifice for our nation; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, United States Army Specialist Christopher A. | ||||||
| 7 | Patterson of North Aurora was killed in action in Afghanistan | ||||||
| 8 | on January 6, 2012, along with 3 of his fellow Indiana National | ||||||
| 9 | Guardsmen; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Spc. Patterson was born in Philadelphia,
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| 11 | Pennsylvania on April 17, 1991 to Robert and Mary (nee | ||||||
| 12 | Schneider) Patterson; he graduated from West Aurora High School | ||||||
| 13 | in 2009 and continued his
studies in music education at | ||||||
| 14 | Valparaiso University in Indiana, where he was a member of the | ||||||
| 15 | professional music fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha
Sinfonia and toured | ||||||
| 16 | with the school's premiere vocal ensemble, the
Chorale; he also | ||||||
| 17 | composed and arranged music with a
cappella group VuVox and for | ||||||
| 18 | the West High STUDy Hall Choir; he was co-captain and first | ||||||
| 19 | board for the
West High Chess Team and was honored to be under | ||||||
| 20 | the tutelage of Robert Payne; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, Spc. Patterson came from a strong military
family; | ||||||
| 22 | he enlisted with the Indiana National Guard and served as a 12B | ||||||
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| 1 | Combat Engineer with the 713th
Engineering Company (Sapper) | ||||||
| 2 | based out of the Valparaiso Armory; and | ||||||
| 3 | WHEREAS, Despite receiving an authorized exception on his | ||||||
| 4 | deployment to complete his studies, Spc. Patterson, embodying | ||||||
| 5 | the true spirit of patriotism and bravery, volunteered to | ||||||
| 6 | accompany his unit on its deployment; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Spc. Patterson is survived by his parents, Robert | ||||||
| 8 | and Mary
Patterson; his 3 brothers, Carl Patterson, Sean (Anna) | ||||||
| 9 | Patterson, and Thomas
Patterson; his paternal grandparents, | ||||||
| 10 | Durland and Sally (nee Clark) Patterson; his maternal | ||||||
| 11 | grandparents, Jim and Claire (nee Dux) Schneider; his | ||||||
| 12 | godparents,
Kathy and George Jirasek; many aunts, uncles, | ||||||
| 13 | nephews, cousins, and dear friends; and by his "adopted" | ||||||
| 14 | siblings, Billy Czech, Aaron Foster, and Candace Robinson; | ||||||
| 15 | therefore, be it
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| 16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 17 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
| 18 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the section of | ||||||
| 19 | Illinois Route 31 as it passes through North Aurora as the | ||||||
| 20 | "Spc. Christopher A. Patterson Memorial Highway"; and be it | ||||||
| 21 | further | ||||||
| 22 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation | ||||||
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| 1 | is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with
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| 2 | State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs
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| 3 | giving notice of the name "Spc. Christopher A. Patterson | ||||||
| 4 | Memorial Highway";
and be it further
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| 5 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 6 | presented to the Secretary of the Department of Transportation | ||||||
| 7 | and the family of Spc. Patterson.
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