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92_HR0917 LRB9216882RHrhA 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, On June 26, 1960, a rookie ball player trotted 3 out onto the field and played his first game as a Chicago 4 Cub; it was a double header, and the Cubs won both games; Ron 5 Santo was new to the team, but already he was contributing 6 his positive spirit and his determination to overcome all 7 challenges; and 8 WHEREAS, Ron Santo was, in fact, facing challenges not 9 even the Cubs knew about; two years before Ron had been 10 diagnosed with type 1 (juvenile) diabetes; although he 11 struggled daily with the constant insulin injections and the 12 endless struggle to balance his exercise and diet, Ron kept 13 this to himself while his talent at third base led to five 14 Gold Glove Awards; this, coupled with a career 342 home runs, 15 1,331 RBI's and an overall batting average of .277, took Ron 16 to nine Major League all-star games; and 17 WHEREAS, That spirit of determination has never wavered 18 in Ron Santo; after a brilliant fourteen-year career with the 19 Chicago Cubs, he launched a highly successful career dealing 20 in oil, the food industry, and fried chicken; because of his 21 successes as a ballplayer, he remained immensely popular with 22 the Chicagoland public, and when the then-fledgling local 23 chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation approached him 24 about lending his name to its annual Walk to Cure Diabetes, 25 he didn't hesitate; and 26 WHEREAS, The rest, as they say, is history; with Ron's 27 involvement the Walk was able to garner tremendous support in 28 its first year and tap into donations of food, prizes, 29 printing etc. that raised $53,000 and included 1,000 people; 30 he did the talk show circuit, signed every t-shirt, 31 participated in publicity efforts, and was on hand on Walk 32 day to welcome and thank participants; and -2- LRB9216882RHrhA 1 WHEREAS, Twenty-four years later, Ron Santo is still at 2 the forefront of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 3 Walk to Cure Diabetes here in Chicago, and with his help it 4 has become the most successful of Juvenile Diabetes Research 5 Foundation Walks in the country; from 1,000 walkers and 6 $53,000 it has grown to incorporate three sites, 14,000 7 people, and $4.1 million; since its inception, the Walk in 8 Chicago has raised $20 million for diabetes research; and 9 WHEREAS, If Ron Santo's involvement had stopped there he 10 would still be a worthy recipient of the Chapter's Person of 11 the Year Award; he has done so much more for Juvenile 12 Diabetes while facing his own, serious challenges in living 13 with diabetes; and 14 WHEREAS, Year in, year out Ron Santo has supported 15 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in every conceivable 16 way; from pulling the winning sweepstakes ticket at the 17 Chapter's Chance of a Lifetime Gala to testifying numerous 18 times before Congress on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes 19 Research Foundation to encourage increased federal funding of 20 diabetes research; Mr. Santo has been a tireless advocate on 21 behalf of the millions living with diabetes, making personal 22 visits to legislators, making personal appearances at 23 diabetes-related events, helping to secure other celebrities 24 to boost attendance and revenue at events, and recently, 25 writing to President Bush to advocate for stem cell research; 26 and 27 WHEREAS, In 1990, Ron Santo entered a new phase of his 28 career when he brought his baseball expertise to the WGN 29 Radio 720 Cubs broadcast booth where he can now be heard 30 providing the Cubs color commentary coupled with the 31 knowledge and professionalism of Radio 720's play-by-play 32 announcer, Pat Hughes; but Mr. Santo's new role didn't slow 33 him down one bit as far as Juvenile Diabetes Research -3- LRB9216882RHrhA 1 Foundation was concerned; in fact, he has frequently and 2 repeatedly used his public status to educate the public about 3 diabetes and the need for a cure and to encourage 4 participation in Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 5 events; in 1997, Ron began hosting his annual Ron Santo Golf 6 Experience, an event that has raised more than $970,000 for 7 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation since its inception; 8 and 9 WHEREAS, Ron Santo has frequently provided encouragement 10 and support for those who live with diabetes, and he has 11 acted as a role model for thousands of people; he has made 12 hundreds of calls and visits to hospitals offering 13 encouragement and hope to newly diagnosed families and brings 14 hope to so many; and 15 WHEREAS, In December 2001, Ron Santo lost part of his 16 right leg to diabetes-related complications; after so many 17 years, the role model, the beacon of hope, might have needed 18 encouragement himself; but once again his determination and 19 optimism to overcome challenges added to his motivation to 20 get "on his feet" again in order to continue his role as a 21 true crusader for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; 22 and 23 WHEREAS, Ron Santo is a Lifetime Board Member for the 24 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Greater Chicago 25 Chapter; and 26 WHEREAS, Clearly, there could be no more dedicated "team 27 player" than Ron Santo; to honor him as the Juvenile Diabetes 28 Research Foundation Greater Chicago Chapter 2002 Person of 29 the Year is only to recognize the obvious, that Ron is not 30 only a person of the year, but a Juvenile Diabetes Research 31 Foundation champion for all seasons and all years; therefore, 32 be it -4- LRB9216882RHrhA 1 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 2 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 3 we congratulate Ron Santo for being chosen as the Juvenile 4 Diabetes Research Foundation Person of the Year; and be it 5 further 6 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 7 given to Ron Santo as an expression of our esteem.