Bill Text: IL HR0628 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Congratulates the owners and employees of WJBC AM-1230 on the occasion of the station's 90th anniversary.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-07-08 - Resolution Adopted [HR0628 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-HR0628-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, WJBC AM-1230 is celebrating its 90th anniversary | ||||||
| 3 | in 2015; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, WJBC AM-1230 was the marketing brainchild of Lee | ||||||
| 5 | Stremlau and was originated from Wayne Hummer's Furniture Store | ||||||
| 6 | in LaSalle, with the hopes that radios, which were then as big | ||||||
| 7 | as furniture, would sell if people had something to listen to; | ||||||
| 8 | and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, WJBC AM-1230's call letters, "WJBC", were | ||||||
| 10 | assigned by then-United States Secretary of Commerce Herbert | ||||||
| 11 | Hoover; Lee Stremlau then provided the slogan, "Where Jazz | ||||||
| 12 | Becomes Classic"; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, In the 1930s, WJBC AM-1230 moved to | ||||||
| 14 | Bloomington-Normal with a new radio tower located on farm | ||||||
| 15 | property owned by Illinois State University and the station | ||||||
| 16 | located on campus; the station's new owners, Arthur and Dorothy | ||||||
| 17 | McGregor, set the tone for the station to focus on "full | ||||||
| 18 | service" news and talk radio to the area's residents; the | ||||||
| 19 | Federal Communications Commission subsequently granted WJBC a | ||||||
| 20 | full-time license; the station also hosted a radio chat with | ||||||
| 21 | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and broadcast the opening | ||||||
| 22 | of State Farm Insurance's new headquarters; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, In the 1940s, the station moved to downtown | ||||||
| 2 | Bloomington; the station's current 400-foot tower was also | ||||||
| 3 | erected on U.S. Route 66 and was said to be "a county landmark, | ||||||
| 4 | visible for miles"; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, WJBC engineers revolutionized radio by sharing | ||||||
| 6 | the new "endless loop tape cartridge" with the National | ||||||
| 7 | Association of Broadcasters in 1959, allowing DJs push-button | ||||||
| 8 | access to music, sound effects, and commercials; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, In the 1970s, under the ownership of Timothy R. | ||||||
| 10 | Ives, the station built its current studios next to its tower | ||||||
| 11 | and, to create holiday spirit, began to gather wrapped gifts | ||||||
| 12 | under the lobby Christmas tree for distribution to homes where | ||||||
| 13 | they were needed, which is now named the Brotherhood Tree; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, In the decades to follow, the station has grown | ||||||
| 15 | along with the community and actively adopts the newest | ||||||
| 16 | broadcasting technology, garnering state wide and national | ||||||
| 17 | awards and recognition for its high school and collegiate | ||||||
| 18 | sports coverage, news coverage, and its on-air personalities - | ||||||
| 19 | local celebrities such as Don Newberg, Art Kimball, Art | ||||||
| 20 | Sechrest, Gene Lyle, Don Munson, Steve Vogel, Ken Behrens, and | ||||||
| 21 | a young Scott Laughlin; the station has also won the | ||||||
| 22 | prestigious National Association of Broadcaster Marconi Award | ||||||
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| 1 | for Best Small Market Station in the nation; therefore, be it
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| 2 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 3 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 4 | congratulate the owners and employees of WJBC AM-1230 on the | ||||||
| 5 | occasion of the station's 90th anniversary and wish them | ||||||
| 6 | continued success in the future; and be it further
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| 7 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 8 | presented to WJBC AM-1230 as a symbol of our respect and | ||||||
| 9 | esteem.
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