NORWOOD PARK RESIDENT APPEARS BEFORE ILLINOIS HOUSE COMMITTEE TO BOOST “ILLINOIS”—OFFICIAL STATE SONG

Norwood Park resident and author Stan “Tex” Banash (left) appeared recently with State Rep. Michael P. McAuliffe (R-20th) before the Museums, Arts and Cultural Enhancement Committee in Springfield in support of HR184 to encourage and expand the playing of the Official State Song, “Illinois,” during official public events at state universities and at state sponsored government functions. McAuliffe sponsored the resolution in the Illinois House. In his testimony, Banash noted that Illinois will celebrate its bicentennial in 2018 yet “very few (people) can hum its (the song’s) melody” and “even fewer know we have a state song.” Banash said that Illinois schools teach little about state history “and even less about its many achievements and its historical importance at the geographical crossroads of a great nation.” He added that the state song is part of our foundation as a state--“a foundation that should instill pride in each resident, but to have pride, our residents must know we have a state song,…must know how to recognize its melody…and must desire to hear it at official events….In doing so, (we) build state pride--an important ingredient in celebrating our 200th anniversary” and in being proud Illinoisans. The resolution is now in the Illinois House where it will be considered for passage in coming weeks. Banash is the author of the book, Roadside History of Illinois (Mountain Press, 2013), and promotes Illinois pride at his many public appearances around the state.