HR0375 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0375 LRB100 12475 MST 25973 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to recognize milestone events in the lives of the citizens of the State; and

WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that the City of Rockford signed a Sister City agreement with Ferentino, Italy, an ancient hill town southeast of Rome, on May 15, 2006; and

WHEREAS, The tenth anniversary year of this historic event is being celebrated this year with several commemorative activities planned by the Rockford Italian Sister Cities Alliance (RISCA) in conjunction with the Greater Rockford Italian American Association (GRIAA); and

WHEREAS, Rockford has a substantial Italian American population that celebrates its ancestral heritage; immigrants to Rockford from Ferentino created the Society of Saint Ambrogio Martyr Mutual Benefit Society (The Saint Ambrogio Club) in 1918 that is still active today; and

WHEREAS, Efforts to create an Italian Sister City for Rockford began in 2005 through family ties between the DeCastris and Giorgi families in both Rockford and Ferentino and the diligent efforts of many citizens in those cities who recognized and wished to formalize the enduring connections that have been maintained between the people of Rockford and the people of Ferentino for over a century; and

WHEREAS, An Italian Sister City Committee was formed in Rockford in 2005 to facilitate the ongoing communication between citizens and officials from Rockford and Ferentino so as to promote and support a Sister City agreement between the two cities; and the Committee is still very active; and

WHEREAS, A delegation of nine public officials from Ferentino's City Council and Pro Loco Association visited Rockford for a week in May of 2006 and participated in several official meetings and activities that culminated in the signing of a Sister City Agreement by Mayor Larry Morrissey of Rockford and Mayor Piergianni Fiorletta of Ferentino, Italy at Rockford's City Hall; and

WHEREAS, Italian Sister City activities have included international exchanges, student pen-pal programs, peace pole installations in Rockford and Ferentino, gift exchanges, creation of the Italian Sister City garden and plaque at Rockford's Keeling-Puri Peace Plaza, participation in the Rockford Sister Cities Advisory Commission, and cultural displays at the Rockford and Ferentino City Halls, Rockford's Festa Italiana, Midway Village Museum, and at the Ethnic Heritage Museum; and

WHEREAS, The 10th anniversary of the Rockford and Ferentino Sister City Agreement has been recognized with proclamations from the City of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the citizens of Rockford and Ferentino, Italy on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of their Sister City partnership; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Cities of Rockford and Ferentino, and representatives of the Rockford Italian Sister Cities Alliance and the Greater Rockford Italian American Association as an expression of our esteem and respect.