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HOUSE RESOLUTION

  
 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
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Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Polish 
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President Lech Kaczynski, who was tragically killed, along with 
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his wife, Maria, in an airplane crash, on April 10, 2010; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, President Kaczynski was traveling with a Polish 
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delegation to Russia for the 70th anniversary of the Russian 
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massacre of Polish prisoners of war in the village of Katyn; 
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the event was to be a milestone in the easing of relations 
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between Russia and Poland; and
 
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    WHEREAS, President Kaczynski was a one-time anti-communist 
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activist who teamed up with his twin brother to take his 
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country in a nationalist, conservative direction; he pursued a 
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strongly pro-U.S. line in foreign relations, in accordance with 
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a cross-party consensus that has grown in Poland since the fall 
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of communism; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, He first rose to fame as a child movie star, 
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alongside his identical twin, in a hit movie in 1962, "Two Who 
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Stole the Moon," about two troublemakers who try to get rich by 
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stealing the moon and selling it; in the 1970s and 1980s, the 
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Kaczynski brothers were activists in the anti-communist 
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opposition and went on to serve as advisers to Solidarity 
 


 






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founder Lech Walesa; he supported Walesa's presidential bid in 
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1990 and became the chief presidential adviser on security 
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issues; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, He served as Poland's justice minister in 
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2000-2001, and his tough stance against crime laid the 
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foundations for the popularity that would fuel his later rise 
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to the presidency; he became mayor of Warsaw in 2001, and won 
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respect for a no-nonsense style and plain-speaking reputation; 
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in seeking the presidency in 2005, he made clean government a 
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key pledge; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, President Kaczynski was a firm friend of Poland's 
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Jewish community, which has enjoyed a revival in recent years 
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after it was nearly wiped out in the Holocaust and later 
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suffered from communist-era repression; in 2008, he became the 
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first head of state to attend a religious service at a 
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synagogue in Poland; as mayor, he promoted a planned museum on 
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Jewish history by donating city land to the project; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, President Kaczynski is survived by his daughter, 
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Marta; his two granddaughters, Ewa and Martyna; his twin 
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brother, Jaroslaw; and his mother, Jadwiga; therefore, be it
  
 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
 


 






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mourn, along with his family, friends, the people of Poland, 
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and people around the world, the passing of President Lech 
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Kaczynski; and be it further
  
 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the family of President Lech Kaczynski as a symbol 
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of our sincere sympathy.