SALUTE TO DE LA SALLE INSTITUTE'S 125 YEARS OF EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE
WHEREAS, On June 1, 1888, the State of Illinois issued a charter incorporating De La Salle Institute as a degree-granting institution. The cornerstone for the iconic educational ediface that housed it was laid May 19, 1889, at the corner of 35th and Wabash; and
WHEREAS, Named for St. John Baptiste De La Salle, founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, an Irish immigrant of that order, Brother Adjutor of Mary, started De La Salle Institute 125 years ago. Since then, the school has grown from a two-year commercial school to a four-year college preparatory school that has educated five Chicago mayors as well as many other luminaries in multiple fields of endeavor such as sportscasters Bryant and Greg Gumbel, former Washington Redskins defensive end Renaldo Wynn, former Bear and an NFL Hall of Famer George Connor, former Presidents of the Cook County Board Dan Ryan and George Dunne, former Anaheim Angels pitcher Lou Pote as well as basketball Hall of Famer, former Notre Dame coach and athletic director Moose Krause; and
WHEREAS, Initially a school for poor and working-class boys, there was no discrimination on religious grounds. In fact, two of the first nine students were Jewish. This philosophy of nondiscrimination has guided De La Salle Institute throughout its century-and-a-quarter existence; and
WHEREAS, Originally, the school offered intensive pragmatic instruction in business. De La Salle's curriculum combined Catholic religious studies with commercial courses, including typing, bookkeeping, and business law. The school had actual "counting rooms," and other replications of that era's business settings for students to become proficient for the white-collar jobs to which they aspired; and
WHEREAS, Today, De La Salle offers a four-year college preparatory curriculum. In the autumn of 2002, De La Salle opened Lourdes Hall on 32nd Place and Aberdeen, a campus for young women, in collaboration with the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis. De La Salle is but one of two high schools in the United States that offers such educational opportunities to both young men and women in separate single-gender environments; and
WHEREAS, In celebration of its quasquicentennial, De La Salle can attest to thousands of successful graduates, as well as an adherence to the concepts of faith, service and community. In 1985, De La Salle was given national recognition as an "Exemplary School" by the United States Department of Education. Only 65 private schools of the 6,000 in the country were so honored; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Robert W. Fioretti, Alderman of the 2nd Ward, has apprised this august body of the significant milestone and tremendous contributions of this singular and outstanding Chicago educational institution; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members of the City of Chicago City Council, assembled here this 10th day of September, 2014 AD, salute the De La Salle Institute on the occasion of its 125th Anniversary and extend our very best wishes for continuing success in fulfilling its vital mission of excellence in encouraging the spiritual, intellectual, social and physical development of the youths in their charge.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be prepared and presented to Father Paul Novak, OSM, President of De La Salle Institute.