Full Text of HR0628 99th General Assembly
HR0628 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, WJBC AM-1230 is celebrating its 90th anniversary | 3 | | in 2015; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, WJBC AM-1230 was the marketing brainchild of Lee | 5 | | Stremlau and was originated from Wayne Hummer's Furniture Store | 6 | | in LaSalle, with the hopes that radios, which were then as big | 7 | | as furniture, would sell if people had something to listen to; | 8 | | and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, WJBC AM-1230's call letters, "WJBC", were | 10 | | assigned by then-United States Secretary of Commerce Herbert | 11 | | Hoover; Lee Stremlau then provided the slogan, "Where Jazz | 12 | | Becomes Classic"; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, In the 1930s, WJBC AM-1230 moved to | 14 | | Bloomington-Normal with a new radio tower located on farm | 15 | | property owned by Illinois State University and the station | 16 | | located on campus; the station's new owners, Arthur and Dorothy | 17 | | McGregor, set the tone for the station to focus on "full | 18 | | service" news and talk radio to the area's residents; the | 19 | | Federal Communications Commission subsequently granted WJBC a | 20 | | full-time license; the station also hosted a radio chat with | 21 | | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and broadcast the opening | 22 | | of State Farm Insurance's new headquarters; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In the 1940s, the station moved to downtown | 2 | | Bloomington; the station's current 400-foot tower was also | 3 | | erected on U.S. Route 66 and was said to be "a county landmark, | 4 | | visible for miles"; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, WJBC engineers revolutionized radio by sharing | 6 | | the new "endless loop tape cartridge" with the National | 7 | | Association of Broadcasters in 1959, allowing DJs push-button | 8 | | access to music, sound effects, and commercials; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, In the 1970s, under the ownership of Timothy R. | 10 | | Ives, the station built its current studios next to its tower | 11 | | and, to create holiday spirit, began to gather wrapped gifts | 12 | | under the lobby Christmas tree for distribution to homes where | 13 | | they were needed, which is now named the Brotherhood Tree; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, In the decades to follow, the station has grown | 15 | | along with the community and actively adopts the newest | 16 | | broadcasting technology, garnering state wide and national | 17 | | awards and recognition for its high school and collegiate | 18 | | sports coverage, news coverage, and its on-air personalities - | 19 | | local celebrities such as Don Newberg, Art Kimball, Art | 20 | | Sechrest, Gene Lyle, Don Munson, Steve Vogel, Ken Behrens, and | 21 | | a young Scott Laughlin; the station has also won the | 22 | | prestigious National Association of Broadcaster Marconi Award |
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| 1 | | for Best Small Market Station in the nation; therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 3 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 4 | | congratulate the owners and employees of WJBC AM-1230 on the | 5 | | occasion of the station's 90th anniversary and wish them | 6 | | continued success in the future; and be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to WJBC AM-1230 as a symbol of our respect and | 9 | | esteem.
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