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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
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| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate the Mokena Fire | ||||||
| 4 | Protection
District on its 100 years of service to the local | ||||||
| 5 | community and
its ongoing commitment to the safety of the | ||||||
| 6 | citizens of Mokena
and the surrounding communities; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, The Mokena Fire Department was organized in 1917
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| 8 | with 30 volunteer members whose primary firefighting apparatus
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| 9 | was a wooden hose cart pulled by the volunteers; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, In 1932, representatives of the W. S. Darley
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| 11 | Company demonstrated a truck mounted fire apparatus which
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| 12 | revealed the dire need for both a reorganized fire department
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| 13 | and modern firefighting equipment; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, In 1933, a Model A Ford Chassis, which had
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| 15 | previously been employed as a coal truck, was purchased, and | ||||||
| 16 | was
subsequently retrofitted at no cost to the community as the
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| 17 | volunteer firefighters organized fundraisers and paid for
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| 18 | upgrades out of their own pockets; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Plans for a fire protection district were formed | ||||||
| 20 | in
order to relieve the Department from constant fundraising
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| 21 | activities and to keep the Department solvent; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, The Mokena Community Volunteer Fire Department | ||||||
| 2 | was
the only fire district application filed in Northern | ||||||
| 3 | Illinois
that was entirely debt-free; and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, On July 19, 1962 the creation of the District was
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| 5 | passed almost unanimously through an election; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, Today the Mokena Fire Protection District serves
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| 7 | portions of Frankfort, Homer Glen, Mokena, and Orland Park, an | ||||||
| 8 | area of over 12 miles with a population of approximately 17,500
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| 9 | people; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, The Department employs 34 full-time firefighters
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| 11 | and paramedics, two full-time administrative assistants, and | ||||||
| 12 | one
paid on-call firefighter, and maintains a fleet of modern
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| 13 | firefighting and advanced life support vehicles; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, The Mokena Fire Protection District was awarded | ||||||
| 15 | Accredited Agency Status by the Center for Public Safety | ||||||
| 16 | Excellence in August of 2001, August of 2007, and March of | ||||||
| 17 | 2012, and is scheduled to be accredited once again in March of | ||||||
| 18 | 2017; it was classified as a Class One Fire Department by the | ||||||
| 19 | Insurance Services Office in April of 2014; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, The Mokena Firefighters of today embody and honor
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| 1 | the Department's tradition of dedication and commitment to the
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| 2 | local community through their professionalism and courageous
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| 3 | work; therefore, be it
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| 4 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 5 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 6 | congratulate the Mokena Fire Protection District on its 100 | ||||||
| 7 | years of service and dedication; and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
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| 9 | presented to the Mokena Fire Protection District as a symbol of
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| 10 | our esteem and respect.
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