HR1225 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1225 LRB096 22225 GRL 41146 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate the board and administration of The Youth Campus on the occasion of the organization's 100th anniversary of service in the City of Park Ridge; and

WHEREAS, The rich history of what would become The Youth Campus began in 1876, when Mrs. Delia Louise Rockwood Wardner, wife of Brigade Surgeon Horace Wardner, accompanied her husband to Cairo, Illinois, and soon realized the great need of the many homeless and destitute children, especially girls, brought to Cairo after the war; she gathered support to found the Illinois Industrial School for Girls in 1877 as "a home and proper training school" for girls orphaned by the Civil War; and

WHEREAS, For 32 years, the Illinois Industrial School for Girls operated in Evanston; in 1908, the school moved to a 40-acre farm in Park Ridge, completing the move in 1910; Hannah Greenebaum Solomon, a civic and social welfare activist, led the reorganization of the school's financial structure; her considerable social connections permitted her to invite generous philanthropic support, including a charitable baseball game in the future Comiskey Park; Mrs. Solomon also invited her close friend Jane Addams, the founder of modern social work and Chicago's Hull House, to join the school's board; together, the pair brought the "English Cottage" model to the school, which called for small individual homes managed by a housemother in lieu of large congregate care orphanages; in 1913, the name of the school was changed to the Park Ridge School for Girls; and

WHEREAS, The Park Ridge School for Girls grew steadily over the following 60 years, with the program's educational programs improving dramatically; by the 1950s and 1960s, those living at the campus attended the local high school and were afforded the best schooling and opportunities for higher education; in 1977, the school celebrated its 100th anniversary and the school's new residential teen pregnancy care program was announced, making the school one of only 2 such programs in the State; and

WHEREAS, In 1980, boys were admitted for the first time to the Park Ridge School for Girls; that same year, the Teaching Family model of care was adopted and the name was changed to the Park Ridge Youth Campus; in 1992, foster care became a new focus for the organization and prompted the opening of a Chicago office from which to recruit, train, and support foster families across the Chicago area; to indicate this broadening of scope, the organization was renamed The Youth Campus; and

WHEREAS, In 1994, The Youth Campus began a program for Medically Complex Infants treated children suffering from the effects of drug exposure, which went on for several years; and

WHEREAS, Today, The Youth Campus serves hundreds of children through many programs in its facilities in Park Ridge and Chicago, including adolescent Residential Treatment in Park Ridge for girls 12-18 years old, Caregive Support for biological and foster parents of medically and developmentally-challenged infants and children in Cook County, and recruiting, licensing, and training programs for foster care and adoption; and

WHEREAS, The board and administration of The Youth Campus serve as models of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the board and administration of The Youth Campus on the occasion of the organization's 100th anniversary of service in the City of Park Ridge and wish them continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Board of Directors of The Youth Campus as a symbol of our esteem and respect.