Press Releases
License Granted; Ryan Sets Historic Cuba Trip For October 23-27
SPRINGFIELD - Governor George H. Ryan and state Rep. Edgar Lopez, D-Chicago, announced today that the U.S. Treasury Department has granted the State of Illinois a license for an historic humanitarian mission to the Republic of Cuba, a trip scheduled for October 23-27.
Ryan, who will be accompanied to the island by Rep. Lopez, an official delegation of more than 40 people and more than $1 million worth of humanitarian supplies, will be the first U.S. governor to visit Cuba in more than 40 years.
"My hope is that this humanitarian mission will usher in a new era of cooperation and understanding between the people of our two countries. We're going to build bridges between the people of Illinois and the people of Cuba," Ryan said. "Isolating Cuba is not in the best interests of Illinois or in the best interests of the United States."
Ryan noted that 70 members of the United States Senate this fall supported a change in U.S. policy to allow humanitarian shipments of food and medicine to Cuba. Last spring, the Illinois House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution urging Congress to lift the current ban on humanitarian aid to the island.
"This is a humanitarian mission designed to help fill the many needs faced day-in and day-out by the Cuban people, needs that Illinois can help meet," the governor added.
"I would like to sincerely thank officials at the Treasury Department, the State Department, the U.S. Special Interests Section in Havana, the Cuban Special Interests Section in Washington, D.C. and everyone else who understands the purpose of this trip for their cooperation and foresight in making history," he said.
Ryan will leave Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for Havana on Oct. 23 on a special charter 737 jet donated by United Airlines specifically for this mission. The delegation will return to O'Hare on Oct. 27.
The preliminary itinerary for the 1999 Illinois-Cuba Humanitarian Mission includes the following events:
1999 ILLINOIS-CUBA HUMANITARIAN MISSION
Senior State Officials
Governor George H. Ryan
First Lady Lura Lynn Ryan
Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan (D-Chicago)
Illinois Senate Minority Leader Emil Jones, Jr. (D-Chicago)
Illinois House Minority Leader Lee A. Daniels (R-Elmhurst)
Illinois State Senator Todd Sieben, 37th Leg. District (R-Geneseo)
Illinois State Representative Dan Rutherford, 87th Rep. District (R-Pontiac)
Illinois State Representative Edgar Lopez, 4th Rep. District (D-Chicago)
State Officials
Robert H. Newtson, chief of staff, governor's office
Dave Urbanek, press secretary, governor's office
Pam McDonough, director, Department of Commerce and Community Affairs
Joe Hannon, managing director, DCCA International Business Division
Michael Rosenfeld, general counsel, DCCA
Margo Theodore, foreign affairs specialist, DCCA
Jose Munoz, Hispanic liaison, governor's office
Charles F. Frame, security detail
Jose Marrero, security detail
Matt Ferguson, Illinois Information Service photographer
Delia Perez, translator
Agriculture Delegation
Joe Hampton, director, Department of Agriculture
William Sand, representative, John Deere Foundation
Allen Andreas, CEO, Archer Daniels Midland Corporation
Richard P. Reising, vice president, Archer Daniels Midland Corporation
David Chicoine, dean, University of Illinois College of Agriculture
Dan Martin, director, Ecosystems, Conservation & Policy, MacArthur Foundation
Orion Samuelson, WGN-AM Radio
Educational and Cultural Delegation
Shirley Madigan, chairwoman, Illinois Arts Council
Bishop Joseph Perry, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
Bob Collins, WGN-AM Radio
Christine Collins, WGN-AM Radio
Audrey Anne Clarke, WGN-AM Radio
Philip Reid, WGN-AM Radio
Charles Serrano, president, Legislative Strategies, Inc.
Zale Glauberman, representative, American Jewish Community
Lourdes Monteagudo, board member, Chicago Board of Education
Maritza Marrero, vice chancellor of Human Resources, City Colleges of Chicago
Ana Cecilia Valasco, Hispanic and Native American recruiter, Illinois State University
Anne D. Davis, president, Illinois Education Association
Medical Delegation
Dr. John Lumpkin, director, Department of Public Health
Jorge Guerra, vice-president, Baxter International Regional Business Practice Committee
Dr. Lisa Thornton, director of pediatrics, La Rabida Children's Hospital, Chicago
Dr. Carl Getto, dean, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Dr. Roberto Diaz, physician, Sacred Heart Hospital, Chicago
Pete Peters, specialist, long-term health care
John Glennon, president, Health Alliances
Arecelia Vila, vice president of public affairs, Schering-Plough
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