Full Text of HR1203 94th General Assembly
HR1203 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Stephen Fiorentino has been named a recipient | 3 |
| of the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Humanitarian of the Year Award | 4 |
| given by the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans | 5 |
| (JCCIA); and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Fiorentino served as president of the JCCIA | 7 |
| from 1995 to 1996; during his presidency, he founded the | 8 |
| Humanitarian of the Year Award, presenting it to Joseph | 9 |
| Cardinal Bernardin in 1995, then naming the award in the | 10 |
| Cardinal's honor; and
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| WHEREAS, The award is presented annually to those whose | 12 |
| lives exemplify the virtues of caring, humanity, and good will | 13 |
| that were the hallmark of Cardinal Bernardin's tenure as | 14 |
| Archbishop of Chicago; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, Born in 1945 in a small village in the province of | 16 |
| Palermo, Sicily, Mr. Fiorentino came to America with his family | 17 |
| in 1960; adapting to his new home wasn't easy, especially when | 18 |
| it came to getting an education, but he persevered and achieved | 19 |
| success as an attorney and active member of the | 20 |
| Italian-American community; and
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| WHEREAS, At the age of 15, he took a job at Serrelli Foods, | 22 |
| a neighborhood grocery store; he attended St. Philomena Parish | 23 |
| School, but because he didn't speak English and there were no | 24 |
| bi-lingual education programs, he was placed in a class with | 25 |
| much younger children; he advanced as his English improved, and | 26 |
| he completed elementary school at the age of 18; in 1962, he | 27 |
| entered Weber High School while working at Lecthrome Inc.; | 28 |
| during his summer breaks, he took a second job as an assembly | 29 |
| line inspector for the Schwinn Bicycle factory; and
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| WHEREAS, During his senior year of high school, he became |
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| eligible for United States citizenship and was sworn in as a | 2 |
| citizen in March of 1966; the following June, he graduated high | 3 |
| school at age 21; despite his age, he was determined to go to | 4 |
| college; while working for Eastern Airlines, Mr. Fiorentino | 5 |
| earned a degree in business from DePaul University; and
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| WHEREAS, After graduating from DePaul, he took a job with | 7 |
| Continental Illinois Bank while attending the evening division | 8 |
| at the John Marshall Law School; he earned his law degree in | 9 |
| 1975, and began his legal career as an assistant state's | 10 |
| attorney in Cook County; in 1977, he married Frances Liga, a | 11 |
| young woman from Casteldaccia, Fiorentino's hometown in | 12 |
| Sicily, and who had settled in Champaign; the couple settled in | 13 |
| Glenview, where they became the proud parents of four sons; and
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| WHEREAS, In 2004, Mr. Fiorentino was awarded honorary | 15 |
| citizenship from the mayor of Casteldaccia; today, he has a | 16 |
| successful law practice concentrating in personal injury | 17 |
| litigation, commercial transactions, and real estate; he is | 18 |
| active in numerous Italian-American organizations, including | 19 |
| the JCCIA and Society San Giuseppe di Casteldaccia; therefore, | 20 |
| be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 22 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 23 |
| we congratulate Mr. Stephen Fiorentino on being a recipient of | 24 |
| the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Humanitarian of the Year Award | 25 |
| given by the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans; and be | 26 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 28 |
| presented to Mr. Fiorentino as an expression of our esteem.
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