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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened to hear of the passing of | ||||||
| 4 | Franchesco "Frank" Salamone, owner and cofounder of | ||||||
| 5 | Franchesco's Ristorante in Rockford, who passed away on | ||||||
| 6 | January 2, 2024; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Frank Salamone was born in Aragon, Sicily on | ||||||
| 8 | February 4, 1929; he was raised in a stone house lacking | ||||||
| 9 | electricity or running water; from a young age, after the | ||||||
| 10 | death of his mother and due to his being the oldest child, he | ||||||
| 11 | assumed the role of family protector, a virtue he carried | ||||||
| 12 | throughout his life; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, Frank Salamone married Anna Russo Introito in | ||||||
| 14 | Sicily on August 11, 1956; together, they had three children, | ||||||
| 15 | Benny, Charlie, and Toni; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, After working at a coal mine in England for a | ||||||
| 17 | time, Frank Salamone immigrated with his family to the United | ||||||
| 18 | States in 1966; he worked hard to provide for his family, often | ||||||
| 19 | working multiple jobs in pursuit of the American Dream; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Frank Salamone possessed a strong entrepreneurial | ||||||
| 21 | spirit and opened his first business, a grocery store, with | ||||||
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| 1 | his brother in 1969; on the 20th anniversary of his family | ||||||
| 2 | moving to the U.S., he opened the first Franchesco's | ||||||
| 3 | Ristorante with his sons on South Perryville Road in Rockford | ||||||
| 4 | on October 10, 1986; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Frank Salamone's family played an integral role | ||||||
| 6 | in the family business for many years; while he managed the | ||||||
| 7 | pizzas, his son, Benny, worked at the bar and the front of the | ||||||
| 8 | house, his son, Charlie, ran the kitchen, and his daughter, | ||||||
| 9 | Toni, oversaw the dining room; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, Eventually, Frank Salamone began to slow down, | ||||||
| 11 | and his children pursued new endeavors; he sold the building | ||||||
| 12 | where the original Francesco's Ristorante stood in 2008, and | ||||||
| 13 | with the help of new business partners, he built a new location | ||||||
| 14 | on Spring Creek Road where Francesco's Ristorante continues | ||||||
| 15 | operating to this day; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Even in the later years of his life, Frank | ||||||
| 17 | Salamone could be found dressed to perfection and greeting | ||||||
| 18 | friends, family, and guests in the restaurant dining room, | ||||||
| 19 | living his life in accordance with his favorite Italian | ||||||
| 20 | expression "la famiglia e tutto", which translates to "family | ||||||
| 21 | is everything"; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 22 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
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| 1 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 2 | we mourn the passing of Franchesco "Frank" Salamone and extend | ||||||
| 3 | our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who | ||||||
| 4 | knew and loved him; and be it further | ||||||
| 5 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 6 | presented to the family of Frank Salamone as an expression of | ||||||
| 7 | our deepest sympathy. | ||||||