HR0952 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0952 LRB097 20957 GRL 68122 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Rev. Fr. John A. Jamnicky on the occasion of his 40th anniversary in the priesthood; and

WHEREAS, Fr. John Jamnicky was born on the southeast side of Chicago in 1945; he was educated in the Chicago Catholic school system and attended St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein; and

WHEREAS, Fr. John Jamnicky was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1972; he served as pastor of St. Martin Church and School, an inner-city parish on Chicago's south side, for 10 years; from 1982 to 2000, he served as the senior Catholic airport chaplain in the United States and administrator and Catholic chaplain of the O'Hare Airport at Chicago O'Hare International Airport; and

WHEREAS, In 2006, Fr. Jamnicky became the founding pastor of the newest Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Chicago, St. Raphael the Archangel in Old Mill Creek; he celebrated his first Mass at St. Raphael the Archangel on September 1, 2007; and

WHEREAS, During his career, Fr. John Jamnicky has been involved in chaplaincy programs at San Quentin Prison in California and Cook County Jail in Chicago; he has spent time as a chaplain at the Department of Psychiatry of Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago and the North Chicago Veterans Administration Hospital; he served as president of the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains; he was the president of the National Catholic Conference of Airport Chaplains from 1986 to 1996; he also served as a chaplain in the Illinois Air National Guard and the United States Air Force from 1984 to 1989; in January of 1995, he earned his Certified Airport Chaplain certificate from the United States Catholic Conference; he also serves as a chaplain and board member for several agencies and organizations, including the Antioch Fire Department, Waukegan Regional Airport, the Port of Waukegan, Maritime Ministries of Lake County, the Slovak American Charitable Association, and WSFI-88.5 FM Catholic Radio; and

WHEREAS, Fr. John Jamnicky served as a Certified Field Education Supervisor for St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and the Garret Evangelical United Methodist Seminary in Evanston; from 2001 to 2006, he served as Coordinator for Human Mobility Apostolates and the National Director of the Apostleship of the Sea at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in the Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees; and

WHEREAS, Fr. John Jamnicky has appeared in several newspaper articles and radio and television programs, including "20/20" and the "Phil Donahue Show"; he has appeared in an article in The Smithsonian Institute's Air and Space magazine; he has published articles in American Airlines' magazine American Way; in 1997, his book, "Ministry of the Moment: A Manual for Developing an Airport Chaplaincy Program" was published through the United States Conference Publishing Services in Washington, D.C.; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Rev. Fr. John A. Jamnicky on the occasion of his 40th anniversary in the priesthood and wish him continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Fr. John Jamnicky as a symbol of our esteem and respect.