Bill Text: IL HR0297 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulates the Chicago Bears on their 100th anniversary.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-04-30 - Resolution Adopted [HR0297 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HR0297-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The upcoming 2019-20 National Football League
(NFL) season will be the 100th season of play for the Chicago
Bears, a charter member of the NFL since the team's inception
in 1920; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago Bears are truly "Illinois' pro team";
they were founded in Decatur as the Staleys and played in
central Illinois during their inaugural year before moving to
Chicago in 1921; they changed their name to the Bears in 1922;
and
WHEREAS, The founding of the Bears, their move to Chicago,
and their groundbreaking first decade as a professional
football team were the work of George S. Halas, an Illinois
native who, during the course of his 63-year career, played
for, coached, and owned the Bears; and
WHEREAS, As an innovator, George S. Halas created and
managed professional football coaching as an institution; he
and the Bears pioneered daily practice sessions, the use of
cameramen and game films, the hiring and use of offensive and
defensive coordinators and assistant coaches, and the
development of player formations that made it possible for a
quarterback and his fellow players to create ball targets in

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two or more separate directions and thus dominate the field of
play; and
WHEREAS, George S. Halas's work as a principal founder, not
only of the Chicago Bears but of professional football in the
United States as a whole, made him one of the immortal figures
in American sports; in 1963, he was named as one of the
inaugural class of honorees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in
Canton, Ohio; beginning with the 1984-85 season, the NFL's
National Football Conference named its conference championship
trophy, a team's symbolic ticket to the Super Bowl, the George
Halas Trophy; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago Bears have hoisted the George S. Halas
Trophy twice, most recently on January 21, 2007 as the NFC
champions for the 2006-07 NFL season and even more memorably on
January 12, 1986 as the NFC champions for the 1985-86 NFL
season, after a game in which they defeated the Los Angeles
Rams by a score of 24 to 0 on the way to their victory in Super
Bowl XX; and
WHEREAS, "Da Bears" of Super Bowl XX, under head coach Mike
Ditka, legendary Hall of Famer Walter Payton, quarterback Jim
McMahon, Super Bowl MVP Richard Dent, and other players too
numerous to mention, forced their way onto America's television
screens and became "America's team"; and

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WHEREAS, As the Chicago Bears fought their way to Super
Bowl XX, they carried the initials "GSH" on the upper left
sleeves of their jerseys as a tribute to the inspiring life of
George S. Halas, and team members have continued to do so to
this day; and
WHEREAS, Virginia Halas McCaskey, George S. Halas's
daughter, has presided over the team as owner for more than
three decades, including the Super Bowl XX championship season;
she has carried on the Halas heritage and principal ownership
of the Chicago Bears into their 100th season of professional
football; and
WHEREAS, Virginia Halas McCaskey accepted the George S.
Halas Trophy when the Chicago Bears won the NFC championship on
January 21, 2007; and
WHEREAS, In recognition of their 100th season and of the
100-season history of the Chicago Bears, the NFL has invited
the Chicago Bears to kick off the 2019-20 season; and
WHEREAS, This game will be played on Thursday, September 5,
2019, at Soldier Field in Chicago, with the Bears hosting a
team from the neighboring state of Wisconsin; therefore, be it

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RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we congratulate the men who have played and coached for the
Chicago Bears, the men and women who have been part of the
Chicago Bears organization, and the great fans who have
supported them for a century, for their parts in the story of
an organization that has become a touchstone of Illinois'
identity; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we remember, with admiration and gratitude,
the men and women of the Chicago Bears family who have moved
through the excitement of their lives; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we pay tribute to the Chicago Bears
organization for their 100-year history and their contribution
to the identity of Illinois and its people; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we look forward to many wins and
championships in the future of the Chicago Bears, a future
which will be even brighter than its past; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
presented to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, owner of the
Chicago Bears Virginia Halas McCaskey, Chairman George H.
McCaskey, President and CEO Ted Phillips, General Manager Ryan
Pace, Head Coach Matt Nagy, and the 2019-20 Chicago Bears

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football team.