HR0827

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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
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Representatives are pleased to congratulate John Reilly, owner 
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of the Rend Lake Resort & Conference Center at Rend Lake, on 
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his hard work in making the Rend Lake area one of Illinois' 
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brightest tourism areas; and

 
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    WHEREAS, For decades the land surrounding Rend Lake was 
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plagued by a lack of water, despite plentiful rainfall, and its 
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location between two of the nation's great rivers, the 
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Mississippi River and the Ohio River; although the region 
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flourished as a coal mining area in the early 1920's, the 
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land's impermeable clays were incapable of soaking in rain, 
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making ground water scarce; and

 
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    WHEREAS, By the 1950's, the onset of an economically 
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devastating three-year drought took its toll on the region; as 
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a result, plans to construct a large water supply lake were 
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started, and evolved into the project that would become Rend 
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Lake; with the support of the Rend Lake Conservancy District, 
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Congress authorized the building of Rend Lake, near Benton, in 
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accordance with the United States Army Corps Chief of 
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Engineers' recommendation; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
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accepted the responsibility for the lake's development and the 
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$60 million project was completed ahead of schedule in March of 
 


 






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1973, months prior to the anticipated date; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The authorized purposes of the Rend Lake project 
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include flood control on the Big Muddy and Mississippi Rivers, 
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water supply, water quality control, fish and wildlife 
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conservation, recreation, and area redevelopment; today, Rend 
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Lake is a multi-purpose project designed to enhance the 
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region's quality of life, supplying over 15 million gallons of 
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water per day to 300,000 persons in over 60 communities; and

 
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    WHEREAS, John Reilly became the owner of the Rend Lake 
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Resort & Conference Center in 1990; after renovations, the 
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Center now has 105 rooms, a state-of-the-art conference center, 
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a Great Room, a gift shop, a general store, and a lounge named 
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after Mr. Reilly; and

 
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    WHEREAS, John Reilly is referred to as the "Ambassador for 
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Southern Illinois" for his hard work on behalf of the people of 
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Southern Illinois; he has made appearances on WGN-AM radio in 
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Chicago and with Mike Shannon on the radio in St. Louis, always 
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to promote and encourage tourism in the southern part of the 
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State; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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thank John Reilly for his hard work in bringing Southern 
 


 






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Illinois to the forefront in Illinois tourism, for spreading 
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the good word about Rend Lake, and for caring about the area he 
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calls home; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to John Reilly as a symbol of our respect and esteem.