HR0976 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0976 LRB098 20749 MST 57777 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, For decades, Du Quoin mayors and city councils worked without success to procure State and federal funding to build an overpass across the mainline Illinois Central Railroad tracks; and

WHEREAS, Without an overpass, traffic on Main and Popular Streets was unnecessarily blocked by numerous daily freight, coal, and passenger trains frequently delaying emergency services to significant portions of town; and

WHEREAS, The Honorable John E. Rednour, Mayor of the City of Du Quoin from 1989 to 2013, successfully secured funding for construction of the overpass; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Rednour led a walking procession across the completed overpass in 1995; and

WHEREAS, The Popular Street Overpass contributes daily to the smooth, timely, and safe passage of commercial and private traffic through the city and increases emergency access to all parts of Du Quoin; and

WHEREAS, Without the effective leadership of Mayor Rednour in securing the funding necessary to build the Popular Street Overpass, at little or no expense to the people of Du Quoin, the project would not have been possible; and

WHEREAS, On March 10, 2014, the City of Du Quoin renamed the Popular Street Overpass after former mayor, John E. Rednour, in honor of his many accomplishments while in office, most notably, the construction of the overpass; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recognize the City of Du Quoin on renaming the Popular Street Overpass after former mayor, John E. Rednour; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs giving notice of the name; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Du Quoin Mayor Rex Duncan and to the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation.