Full Text of HR1342 96th General Assembly
HR1342 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to congratulate the 107 graduates | 4 |
| of the Urban Prep Academy for Young Men in Chicago for all | 5 |
| graduating from high school and getting accepted into college; | 6 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, The Urban Prep Academy for Young Men is an | 8 |
| all-male, all-black high school in Chicago's Englewood | 9 |
| community; Urban Prep's mission is to provide a comprehensive, | 10 |
| high-quality college preparatory education to young men that | 11 |
| results in all of the academy's graduates succeeding in | 12 |
| college; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, Urban Prep Academies is a non-profit organization | 14 |
| founded in 2002 by Tim King and a group of African-American | 15 |
| education, business, and civic leaders; the group opened their | 16 |
| 1st school, the Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men in | 17 |
| Englewood, in 2006; in 2009, they opened their 2nd school in | 18 |
| East Garfield Park; in 2010, the group will open their 3rd | 19 |
| school in Chicago's South Shore community; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, The students of the Urban Prep Academies believe | 21 |
| in the academy's creed: "We believe. We are the young men of | 22 |
| Urban Prep. We are college bound. We are exceptional-not |
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| because we say it, but because we work hard at it. We will not | 2 |
| falter in the face of any obstacle placed before us. We are | 3 |
| dedicated, committed and focused. We never succumb to | 4 |
| mediocrity, uncertainty or fear.
We never fail because we never | 5 |
| give up. We make no excuses. We choose to live honestly, | 6 |
| nonviolently and honorably. We respect ourselves and, in doing | 7 |
| so, respect all people. We have a future for which we are | 8 |
| accountable. We have a responsibility to our families, | 9 |
| community and world. We are our brothers' keepers. We believe | 10 |
| in ourselves. We believe in each other. We believe in Urban | 11 |
| Prep. WE BELIEVE."; and | 12 |
| WHEREAS, Of the 107 African-American seniors at the Urban | 13 |
| Prep Academy for Young Men, only 4% of the graduates could read | 14 |
| at their grade level when they were freshman; 82% of the | 15 |
| students came from low-income families; and
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| WHEREAS, The Urban Prep Academy for Young Men managed to | 17 |
| get all of the seniors accepted into 72 colleges around the | 18 |
| nation through its innovative, pro-active stance on education; | 19 |
| before the male students started their first freshman class 4 | 20 |
| years ago, each student was assigned a college counselor; the | 21 |
| students then took double periods of English and spent 72,000 | 22 |
| more minutes in the classroom than their peers at regular | 23 |
| Chicago public schools; the students also visited the esteemed | 24 |
| Northwestern University; and
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| WHEREAS, The Urban Prep Academy for Young Men's counselors | 2 |
| will also provide comprehensive support for the students | 3 |
| throughout their college years; and
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| WHEREAS, These young men serve as models of hard work, | 5 |
| integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of | 6 |
| Illinois; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 8 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 9 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we congratulate the 107 | 10 |
| graduates of the Urban Prep Academy for Young Men for their | 11 |
| success and wish them continued success and happiness in the | 12 |
| future; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 14 |
| presented to the 107 graduates of the Urban Prep Academy for | 15 |
| Young Men as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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