Galesburg Reporter

Rep. Randy Frese (R-Quincy) took to his website to honor fallen veterans on Memorial Day

“This Memorial Day, take a moment to remember and honor the servicemembers who have given their lives so that we can be free,” Frese posted. “Let us never forget their sacrifice, courage, and devotion to our nation.”

In recent months, Frese has warned his constituents to be aware of COVID testing scams, which have popped up over the last year. Coronavirus testing sites are considered to be businesses and not regulated by the Illinois Department of Public Health. As such, experts advise it’s best to get tested at a site affiliated with a known entity, like a pharmacy, a doctor's office or the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The IDPH reported there have been approximately 33,000 coronavirus deaths in Illinois.

Frese has also criticized the budget passed by the Democrats and signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“It’s appropriate that today's budget address was delivered on Groundhog Day because, like the movie, it was a bit like living the same day over again," Frese said in a February press release. "Once again we heard a budget plan based on a rosy picture of our state's finances that isn’t really honest. The Governor failed to mention that slight improvements in our financial picture are temporary. They are the result of a massive federal bailout and increased taxpayer burdens due to rising inflation — not responsible financial policies from his administration."

According to the History Channel, the first widely marked commemoration of what we now call Memorial Day – then known as Decoration Day – was observed May 30, 1868. The commemoration was created by proclamation of Major General John Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic to honor those who died “in defense of their country during the late rebellion.”

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs wrote Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1971.

“Although not known by many today, the early evolution of the Memorial Day holiday was a manifestation of Lincoln’s hope for reconciliation between North and South,” the late Richard Gardiner, who was a professor at the Columbia State University, wrote in a column in the Kansas Reflector.