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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate the Village of Harwood | ||||||
| 4 | Heights on the occasion of its 75th anniversary; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, In the 19th century, Israel Smith was the first | ||||||
| 6 | settler who made his home in the area of what would become | ||||||
| 7 | Harwood Heights; he left Chicago, traveling west to the first | ||||||
| 8 | high point he encountered and purchased the land there; his | ||||||
| 9 | family followed, purchasing land along the ridge that is now | ||||||
| 10 | known as Smith's Ridge; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Harwood Heights was incorporated years later in | ||||||
| 12 | the autumn of 1947; the village was awarded an official | ||||||
| 13 | charter on March 4, 1948, and the origins of its name remain a | ||||||
| 14 | mystery to this day; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Herbert Huening, the man who made the | ||||||
| 16 | incorporation of Harwood Heights possible, was elected the | ||||||
| 17 | village's first mayor after its incorporation; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, In the 1950s, Harwood Heights expanded south of | ||||||
| 19 | Lawrence and annexed additional areas east of Harlem that | ||||||
| 20 | remained, stretching to Narragansett; due to the village's | ||||||
| 21 | rapid growth during this time, the Union Ridge School added | ||||||
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| 1 | new classrooms and a lunchroom, and the first church in the | ||||||
| 2 | Village was constructed; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, In 1958, the citizens of both Harwood Heights and | ||||||
| 4 | Norridge took a vote to create a high school district and build | ||||||
| 5 | a school, resulting in Ridgewood High School, which opened its | ||||||
| 6 | doors two years later; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, In 1963, Harwood Heights reached new heights with | ||||||
| 8 | the building of Parkway Towers, the first high rise apartment | ||||||
| 9 | buildings in the Northwest suburbs; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, In 1964, Harwood Heights' Village Hall relocated | ||||||
| 11 | from the basement of then-Mayor Huening's home to the current | ||||||
| 12 | Village Hall on Wilson Avenue; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, In 1968, the beginning steps of a fundraising | ||||||
| 14 | drive were taken to open the area's first library, resulting | ||||||
| 15 | in the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, which moved from the | ||||||
| 16 | ground floor of Parkway Towers to Olcott Avenue to its current | ||||||
| 17 | residence on Oketo Avenue; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Harwood Heights has had nine residents serve as | ||||||
| 19 | mayor since its incorporation, with Mayor Arlene Jezierny | ||||||
| 20 | currently serving in the role, having served as mayor since | ||||||
| 21 | 2009; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Harwood Heights is a thriving community in the | ||||||
| 2 | Northwest suburbs that possesses a rich history, culture, and | ||||||
| 3 | amenities; therefore, be it
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| 4 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 5 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 6 | we congratulate the Village of Harwood Heights and the Board | ||||||
| 7 | of Trustees on the village's 75 years of incorporation, and we | ||||||
| 8 | wish the village continued success in the years to come; and be | ||||||
| 9 | it further
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| 10 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 11 | presented to Harwood Heights Mayor Arlene Jezierny to | ||||||
| 12 | commemorate this significant anniversary.
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