Full Text of HR0508 96th General Assembly
HR0508 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to congratulate Ira Weinstein of | 4 |
| Glencoe on the occasion of his 90th birthday on June 10, 2009; | 5 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Ira Weinstein was born in 1919 in Chicago; during | 7 |
| high school, his talent for print communication found | 8 |
| expression in the school newspaper; and
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| WHEREAS, After high school, Ira Weinstein began a promising | 10 |
| career in advertising at Goldblatt's department stores, a | 11 |
| career which was interrupted by America's entry into World War | 12 |
| II; he signed up for officer's school and trained in Texas and | 13 |
| Colorado to become an officer in the Army Air Corps, rising to | 14 |
| the rank of Lieutenant Colonel; just before completing his | 15 |
| training as a bombardier-navigator and transferring to | 16 |
| overseas duty in 1942, he married Norma Randall, beginning a | 17 |
| wonderful marriage that would last until her passing in 1995; | 18 |
| and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, After his training, Ira Weinstein joined the 702nd | 20 |
| Squadron of the 445th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force out of | 21 |
| Tibbenham, England; he took part in 2 dozen missions as a pilot | 22 |
| of a B-24 Liberator; in trying to close out his quota of |
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| missions in order to go home to his new bride, he traded his | 2 |
| pass for the Jewish High Holidays and took part in one last | 3 |
| mission; unfortunately, his last mission was the ill-fated | 4 |
| Kassel mission on September 27, 1944, known as the greatest | 5 |
| single loss of men and material in the European air war; left | 6 |
| without fighter cover, Mr. Weinstein's plane was shot down; | 7 |
| after successfully escaping from the plane, he evaded Gestapo | 8 |
| search patrols for 6 days until his hunger and fatigue overtook | 9 |
| him and he gave himself up at a nearby town; and
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| WHEREAS, Following his capture, Ira Weinstein was held in | 11 |
| Stalag Luft I in Barth, Germany, enduring difficult conditions | 12 |
| as winter set in and his captors provided less and less food | 13 |
| and shelter to their captives; he remained there until the | 14 |
| camp's liberation on May 11, 1945; for his heroism during the | 15 |
| war, he was awarded the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, the POW | 16 |
| Medal, a Presidential Citation, the American Campaign and | 17 |
| European Campaign Medals, the WWII Victory Medal, and the | 18 |
| French Croix de Guerre; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, After the war, Ira Weinstein returned to Chicago | 20 |
| and took over a small advertising firm, growing Schram | 21 |
| Advertising Co. into a nationally known direct marketing firm; | 22 |
| he soon moved to Glencoe to raise his daughters, Laura and | 23 |
| Terri; after his retirement, he married Mary Gandleman; and
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| WHEREAS, Ira Weinstein is well known in his community as an | 2 |
| expert gardener; his greenhouse has been a neighborhood | 3 |
| landmark with blooms surpassed only by the nearby Botanical | 4 |
| Gardens; and
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| WHEREAS, Ira Weinstein has been active with numerous | 6 |
| community organizations; he was a founding member of | 7 |
| Congregation Solel; he has been a benefactor and supporter of | 8 |
| the Women's American ORT and a contributor toward the building | 9 |
| of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.; he has also been | 10 |
| active with the 8th Air Force Historical Society and has been | 11 |
| active in the building of the Kassel Mission Memorial project; | 12 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Ira Weinstein has served as a model of hard work, | 14 |
| integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of | 15 |
| Illinois; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 17 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 18 |
| congratulate Ira Weinstein on the occasion of his 90th birthday | 19 |
| and wish him many happy and healthy years to come; and be it | 20 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 22 |
| presented to Ira Weinstein as a symbol of our esteem and |
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| respect.
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