Full Text of SR0481 96th General Assembly
SR0481 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of
United States Army Staff Sergeant | 4 |
| Christopher Rudzinski of Rantoul, who was killed near Kandahar, | 5 |
| Afghanistan on October 16, 2009 while conducting military | 6 |
| operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; and
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| WHEREAS, SSgt. Christopher Rudzinski was born on August 29, | 8 |
| 1981, in Augsburg, Germany; he was the son of Michael Charles | 9 |
| Rudzinski and Bonita Kay (Jackson) Rudzinski; and
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| WHEREAS, SSgt. Christopher Rudzinski graduated from | 11 |
| Rantoul Township High School in 1999; in high school, he was | 12 |
| active in the marching band, madrigal, and Help Peers; and
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| WHEREAS, SSgt. Christopher Rudzinski grew up in a military | 14 |
| family with a tradition of military service in the U.S. Armed | 15 |
| Forces dating back to World War II; at the age of 17, he | 16 |
| enlisted in the United States Army and was sworn into service | 17 |
| by his father; and
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| WHEREAS, SSgt. Christopher Rudzinski attended basic | 19 |
| training and armor school at Fort Knox, Kentucky, where he | 20 |
| served as an M1 Abrams crewman; he was subsequently assigned to | 21 |
| Germany and deployed on his first tour to support peacekeeping |
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| operations in Kosovo; after serving in Kosovo, he was | 2 |
| transferred to Fort Hood, Texas, where he served with the 4th | 3 |
| Infantry Division; in 2003, he was deployed to Iraq in support | 4 |
| of Operation Iraqi Freedom; toward the end of his deployment in | 5 |
| Iraq, he fell ill and was taken to Walter Reed Army Hospital | 6 |
| for treatment; and
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| WHEREAS, After his convalescence at Walter Reed, SSgt. | 8 |
| Christopher Rudzinski re-enlisted for service as a military | 9 |
| police officer and graduated from MP training at Fort Leonard | 10 |
| Wood, Missouri, in 2004; after training, he was once again | 11 |
| assigned to Germany, where he met his future wife, Caroline; he | 12 |
| was later deployed to Iraq on his 3rd tour to serve as a | 13 |
| trainer and mentor to Iraqi policemen; while home on leave | 14 |
| during the tour, he married the love of his life; after | 15 |
| returning to Germany, he resumed his police duties; he later | 16 |
| became an investigator and MP desk sergeant; and
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| WHEREAS, Following his service in Germany, SSgt. | 18 |
| Christopher Rudzinski was sent to Fort Stewart, Georgia; while | 19 |
| at Fort Stewart, he was deployed to Afghanistan with the 293rd | 20 |
| MP Company, where he was unfortunately killed while performing | 21 |
| his duties; and
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| WHEREAS, SSgt. Christopher Rudzinski was the recipient of | 23 |
| numerous military awards for his service to his nation, |
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| including the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, 4 Army | 2 |
| Commendation Medals, 4 Army Achievement Medals, 3 Army Good | 3 |
| Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Kosovo | 4 |
| Campaign Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Afghanistan | 5 |
| Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary | 6 |
| Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the | 7 |
| Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the | 8 |
| Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO | 9 |
| Medal, the Combat Action Badge, the Driver's Badge, and the | 10 |
| German Schutzenschnur Badge in Gold; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, SSgt. Christopher Rudzinski enjoyed cars, | 12 |
| fishing, playing video games, spending time with his friends | 13 |
| and family, and traveling to Walt Disney World; and
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| WHEREAS, SSgt. Christopher Rudzinski was preceded in death | 15 |
| by his mother, Bonita, and his beloved sister, Jacqueline | 16 |
| Rudzinski; and
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| WHEREAS, SSgt. Christopher Rudzinski is survived by his | 18 |
| wife, Caroline; his son, Ryan; his parents, Michael and Natalie | 19 |
| Rudzinski; his sister, Annette Dalton; his brothers, PFC Jordan | 20 |
| Rudzinski, and Christian and Alexander Rudzinski; his nephews, | 21 |
| Ian and Sean Dalton; his paternal grandmother, Janet Rudzinski; | 22 |
| his maternal grandparents, David and Valerie Grindley; his | 23 |
| great-grandmother, Nadine Legue; and his aunts and uncles and |
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| their families, Eric and Judy Rudzinski, David and Gwen | 2 |
| Rudzinski, Oliver and Martina Hemming, Erick and Sonya | 3 |
| Grindley, and James and Martha Jackson; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, SSgt. Christopher Rudzinski's patriotism and | 5 |
| courage will be remembered fondly by his loving family and | 6 |
| friends, his fellow soldiers, and the citizens of our grateful | 7 |
| nation; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 9 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 10 |
| his family and friends, the passing of United States Army Staff | 11 |
| Sergeant Christopher Rudzinski; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That we honor the memory of SSgt. Christopher | 13 |
| Rudzinski and his willingness to serve our country, which led | 14 |
| to him making the ultimate sacrifice; and be it further | 15 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 16 |
| presented to the family of SSgt. Christopher Rudzinski as an | 17 |
| expression of our sympathy.
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