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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Joliet Branch 20 of the | ||||||
| 4 | Slovenian Union of America on the occasion of the 90th | ||||||
| 5 | anniversary of its founding; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, The Slovenian Union of America, originally the | ||||||
| 7 | Slovenian Women's Union of
America, was founded by Slovenian | ||||||
| 8 | immigrant Marie Prisland of Sheboygan, Wisconsin on
December | ||||||
| 9 | 19, 1926 to unite Slovenian women and provide an open forum for | ||||||
| 10 | self-expression
and the opportunity to learn from one another | ||||||
| 11 | in their new country; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Joliet's Branch 20 was the third of 12 branches to | ||||||
| 13 | be organized in Illinois; on June 11, 1928 at the
home of Mary | ||||||
| 14 | Russ, 14 charter members of Branch 20 met for the first time; | ||||||
| 15 | most of the members were parishioners of St. Joseph Church, | ||||||
| 16 | founded by immigrants in 1891; many of Branch 20 activities | ||||||
| 17 | over the decades have been centered on the beloved church; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Branch 20 members are hard-working American | ||||||
| 19 | citizens who have enriched
society with their faith, | ||||||
| 20 | patriotism, and love of their Slovenian history, customs, food, | ||||||
| 21 | and music; Slovenian-Americans in Joliet and the greater Will | ||||||
| 22 | County area continue to serve in all areas of
community life; | ||||||
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| 1 | and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The vision of the Slovenian Union of America is to | ||||||
| 3 | preserve the living spirit of its
founders and past members by | ||||||
| 4 | preserving the Slovenian legacy for future generations; it has | ||||||
| 5 | published several cookbooks and maintains a library at its | ||||||
| 6 | Heritage Museum in
Joliet; since 1929, the Union has published | ||||||
| 7 | a cultural heritage magazine called ZARJA (The
Dawn) and has | ||||||
| 8 | cooperated in recent years with Slovenia in heritage | ||||||
| 9 | preservation projects; in 1943,
the Union became the first | ||||||
| 10 | Slovenian fraternal organization to establish a scholarship | ||||||
| 11 | fund for its
youth; the
Union has also been host to visiting | ||||||
| 12 | dignitaries and scholars from Slovenia; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, The Slovenian Union of America became a nonprofit | ||||||
| 14 | organization in 2011,
dedicated to educating its members and | ||||||
| 15 | the general public about Slovenian customs and the
history of | ||||||
| 16 | Slovenian-Americans and their contributions to society; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, The organization's national office and Slovenian | ||||||
| 18 | Heritage Museum are housed in
the Stonich across from St. | ||||||
| 19 | Joseph Church on Chicago Street in an area the City of Joliet | ||||||
| 20 | has
designated as "Slovenian Row" in honor of the Slovenian | ||||||
| 21 | immigrants who once lived and
operated businesses there; | ||||||
| 22 | therefore, be it
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| 1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 2 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 3 | congratulate Joliet Branch 20 of the Slovenian Union of America | ||||||
| 4 | on its 90th anniversary and wish its members many more | ||||||
| 5 | wonderful years; and be it further
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| 6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 7 | presented to Joliet's Branch 20 as a symbol of our respect and | ||||||
| 8 | esteem.
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