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Nearing Home Plate: The Jim Thome Highway

A stretch of central Illinois road may be re-named after one of baseball's greats.

The Illinois House has adopted a resolution that would designate a section of Route 24 in and near Peoria as the "Jim Thome Highway."

Thome hails from Peoria, and went on to a successful Major League Baseball career.

The area's State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, a Democrat, says Thome was a prolific hitter. He was on the Chicago White Sox when he reached the sluggers' gold standard of hitting 500 home runs.

"Jim is well-known for his baseball prowess, but in our community he is better known for his philanthropic giving, his constant positive attitude and his gregarious personality," Gordon-Booth said.

Thome lived for a time in Hinsdale, and now he's in Burr Ridge.

The resolution hasn't made it to home plate yet; it's next up at bat in the Senate.

Amanda Vinicky moved to Chicago Tonight on WTTW-TV PBS in 2017.
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