093_SR0311

 
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 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members  of  the  Senate  of  the  State  of
 3    Illinois were saddened to learn of the death of Army National
 4    Guard  1st  Lt.  Brian Slavenas of Genoa who was the pilot of
 5    the Chinook helicopter shot down recently near Fallujah, Iraq
 6    on November 2, 2003; and

 7        WHEREAS, Lt. Slavenas was killed with 15  other  soldiers
 8    in  the  deadliest  attack  on United States troops since the
 9    invasion; and

10        WHEREAS, Lt. Slavenas was born on December  19,  1972  in
11    DeKalb to Ronald and Rosemarie (Dietz) Slavenas; and

12        WHEREAS,  Lt.  Slavenas graduated from DeKalb High School
13    in 1991 and  joined  the  National  Guard;  while  earning  a
14    bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering at the University
15    of  Illinois  at  Urbana-Champaign  he  also earned a pilot's
16    license and learned to fly Cessnas and  other  single  engine
17    planes;  he returned to duty after his graduation in December
18    2002; and

19        WHEREAS, Lt. Slavenas was the youngest of three boys; his
20    brother, Eric, was an Army  paratrooper,  and  Marcus  was  a
21    Marine;  like their father, Ronald, all three sons served the
22    the United States military; and

23        WHEREAS, Lt. Slavenas was a member of  Company  F,  First
24    Battalion,  106th Aviation Illinois National Guard in Peoria;
25    he had been serving in Iraq since July and in the Middle East
26    since April; and

27        WHEREAS, The passing of Lt. Brian Slavenas will be deeply
28    felt by many, especially his father  and  stepmother,  Ronald
29    and Christi Slavenas; his mother, Rosemarie (Dietz) Slavenas;
30    his  two  brothers, Eric (Lori) Slavenas and Marcus Slavenas;
31    his  paternal  grandmother,  Halina   Dilys;   his   maternal
 
                            -2-      LRB093 14222 KEF 19729 r
 1    grandmother,   Mary   Lou   Dietz;   his   stepsister,  Sarah
 2    Brakefield; his stepbrother, Sam Brakefield;  his  aunts  and
 3    uncles; his nephew; and numerous cousins; and

 4        WHEREAS,  Lt.  Slavenas  was  preceded  in  death  by his
 5    grandfathers, Dr. Paulius Slavenas and Max Walter Dietz;  his
 6    uncle,  Eric  Dietz;  and his step-grandfather, the Rev. Paul
 7    Dilys; therefore, be it

 8        RESOLVED, BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-THIRD  GENERAL
 9    ASSEMBLY  OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing
10    of 1st Lt. Brian Slavenas along with all who knew  and  loved
11    him  and  extend  our  sincere  condolences to his family and
12    friends; and be it further

13        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
14    presented  to  the  family  of  1st  Lt. Brian Slavenas as an
15    expression of our deepest sympathy.