HR0628 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0628 LRB099 12952 GRL 36812 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, WJBC AM-1230 is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2015; and

WHEREAS, WJBC AM-1230 was the marketing brainchild of Lee Stremlau and was originated from Wayne Hummer's Furniture Store in LaSalle, with the hopes that radios, which were then as big as furniture, would sell if people had something to listen to; and

WHEREAS, WJBC AM-1230's call letters, "WJBC", were assigned by then-United States Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover; Lee Stremlau then provided the slogan, "Where Jazz Becomes Classic"; and

WHEREAS, In the 1930s, WJBC AM-1230 moved to Bloomington-Normal with a new radio tower located on farm property owned by Illinois State University and the station located on campus; the station's new owners, Arthur and Dorothy McGregor, set the tone for the station to focus on "full service" news and talk radio to the area's residents; the Federal Communications Commission subsequently granted WJBC a full-time license; the station also hosted a radio chat with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and broadcast the opening of State Farm Insurance's new headquarters; and

WHEREAS, In the 1940s, the station moved to downtown Bloomington; the station's current 400-foot tower was also erected on U.S. Route 66 and was said to be "a county landmark, visible for miles"; and

WHEREAS, WJBC engineers revolutionized radio by sharing the new "endless loop tape cartridge" with the National Association of Broadcasters in 1959, allowing DJs push-button access to music, sound effects, and commercials; and

WHEREAS, In the 1970s, under the ownership of Timothy R. Ives, the station built its current studios next to its tower and, to create holiday spirit, began to gather wrapped gifts under the lobby Christmas tree for distribution to homes where they were needed, which is now named the Brotherhood Tree; and

WHEREAS, In the decades to follow, the station has grown along with the community and actively adopts the newest broadcasting technology, garnering state wide and national awards and recognition for its high school and collegiate sports coverage, news coverage, and its on-air personalities - local celebrities such as Don Newberg, Art Kimball, Art Sechrest, Gene Lyle, Don Munson, Steve Vogel, Ken Behrens, and a young Scott Laughlin; the station has also won the prestigious National Association of Broadcaster Marconi Award for Best Small Market Station in the nation; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the owners and employees of WJBC AM-1230 on the occasion of the station's 90th anniversary and wish them continued success in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to WJBC AM-1230 as a symbol of our respect and esteem.