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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 William R. "Bill" Kreeb on | ||||||
| 4 | the occasion of his retirement as President and CEO of the | ||||||
| 5 | Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, William Kreeb has served as President and CEO of | ||||||
| 7 | the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House, a United
Methodist | ||||||
| 8 | Community Center, since 1981; he grew up in Kentucky and worked | ||||||
| 9 | in
mission in the Appalachia Region prior to coming to the | ||||||
| 10 | Neighborhood House; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Upon becoming President and CEO, William Kreeb | ||||||
| 12 | began helping the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House meet | ||||||
| 13 | the ongoing child care needs of the community; he, along with | ||||||
| 14 | others, worked to obtain the first At-Risk Infant and Toddler | ||||||
| 15 | Child Care
Program; the Neighborhood House went on to become | ||||||
| 16 | the first nationally accredited child care program in the
City | ||||||
| 17 | of East St. Louis; in 1993, he helped develop a | ||||||
| 18 | state-of-the-art child care facility at the East St. Louis | ||||||
| 19 | Family
Development Center, which continues today as a Gold Star | ||||||
| 20 | Rated Child Care Center; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, Under the direction of William Kreeb, the Lessie | ||||||
| 22 | Bates Davis Neighborhood House was one of several agencies that | ||||||
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| 1 | took the lead in developing new and
innovative strategies to | ||||||
| 2 | help people find jobs; with the help of Representative
Wyvetter | ||||||
| 3 | Younge and the East St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, the | ||||||
| 4 | Neighborhood House started
the East St. Louis Small Business | ||||||
| 5 | Incubator, which resulted in supporting 46 minority
owned and | ||||||
| 6 | operated businesses; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, William Kreeb addressed the housing crisis in the | ||||||
| 8 | community, working with Habitat for Humanity to build safe and | ||||||
| 9 | affordable housing, which developed into a Partnership with | ||||||
| 10 | Catholic Urban Programs, East Side Heart and Home, and the | ||||||
| 11 | Family Center to develop the
Neighborhood Faith Based Housing | ||||||
| 12 | Program; in the subsequent years, the partnership has built
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| 13 | many new homes in the community and provided mission volunteer | ||||||
| 14 | opportunities; he
still enjoys working on houses throughout the | ||||||
| 15 | community to help those in need; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, William Kreeb helped obtain a one time grant | ||||||
| 17 | through the United Way
to help develop the St. Clair County | ||||||
| 18 | Youth Coalition, which has continued over the past 15 years, | ||||||
| 19 | bringing together more than 65 agencies in St. Clair County; | ||||||
| 20 | and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, William Kreeb is proud to be part of the | ||||||
| 22 | development of East Side Aligned and their commitment to | ||||||
| 23 | changing and improving
how all agencies and organizations work | ||||||
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| 1 | together to make sure children and youth have the
support they | ||||||
| 2 | need to be successful in school and in life; therefore, be it
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| 3 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 4 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 5 | congratulate William R. "Bill" Kreeb on his retirement as | ||||||
| 6 | President and CEO of the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House | ||||||
| 7 | and we wish him the best in all his future endeavors; and be it | ||||||
| 8 | further
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| 9 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 10 | presented to William Kreeb as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
| 11 | respect.
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