Full Text of HR0648 103rd General Assembly
HR0648 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | HR0648 | | LRB103 39748 LAW 70244 r |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate the YMCA of Springfield | 4 | | (Springfield Y) on the occasion of its 150th anniversary; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, On March 25, 1874, the Springfield Y was formed | 6 | | in the basement of First Presbyterian Church by a group of | 7 | | individuals who saw a need to provide young men with reading | 8 | | rooms and meeting spaces as an alternative to saloons; by | 9 | | 1885, the organization had constructed its first building, | 10 | | which housed meeting spaces, education, exercise spaces, and a | 11 | | dormitory for young men needing shelter; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Before redirecting its focus on sports and | 13 | | fitness, the Springfield Y stood at the forefront of | 14 | | addressing the City of Springfield's joblessness through | 15 | | creating and offering job training and work competency | 16 | | programs for young men; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, In the late 1800s, the Springfield Y expanded | 18 | | into young men's sports by organizing baseball teams in the | 19 | | area; the organization proceeded to offer basketball in 1891, | 20 | | bringing basketball leagues to the area by 1908; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y constructed a new building at |
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| 1 | | 7th and Capital in 1908, and this property housed some of the | 2 | | first structured fitness programs in Springfield, its | 3 | | competitive sports programs, including basketball and | 4 | | baseball, and one of the area's first indoor swimming pools, | 5 | | which allowed the organization to begin offering swim lessons; | 6 | | and | 7 | | WHEREAS, In the 1930s and 1940s, the Springfield Y created | 8 | | a teen night club, which it hosted in the basement as a fun, | 9 | | safe space for youth to gather and dance; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Due to the Great Depression and World War II, the | 11 | | Springfield Y postponed constructing a new YMCA facility until | 12 | | 1962, when it opened a new building at 4th and Cook; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y helped bring youth soccer to | 14 | | Springfield in 1967; the organization's soccer program became | 15 | | nationally known by 1974, was one of the first coed youth | 16 | | sports programs in the area, and is regarded as the genesis of | 17 | | every youth, high school, and college soccer program in | 18 | | central Illinois today; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, In the early 1970s, the Springfield Y established | 20 | | before and after school care for low-income families; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y permitted women to become full |
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| 1 | | members in 1974, two years before the YMCA of the USA adopted | 2 | | its policy and four years before it banned gender | 3 | | discrimination nationwide; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y created a Women's Health Center | 5 | | at its 4th and Cook location in 1980; that same year, the | 6 | | organization also adopted a single parent discounted family | 7 | | rate; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y opened a new day camp lodge, | 9 | | YMCA Camp Wa-Kon-Tah, on Lake Springfield in 1988 to serve | 10 | | more children attending its summer camp programs; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y celebrated its 125th | 12 | | anniversary in 1999; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y opened its new $18 million | 14 | | Kerasotes facility, which offered state-of-the-art fitness | 15 | | facilities, pools, and child care facilities, to better serve | 16 | | the community in 2011; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, To replace its aging downtown structure, the | 18 | | Springfield Y opened a new $33 million downtown facility at | 19 | | 4th and Carpenter in 2020; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, After 56 years, the Springfield Y opened its own |
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| 1 | | soccer fields to provide more opportunities for local youth at | 2 | | its Kerasotes facility in 2023; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, That same year, the Springfield Y distributed | 4 | | 4,000 food boxes and helped provide relief to local victims of | 5 | | the historic storms that struck from June 29 to June 30; the | 6 | | organization also provided over 1,400 at-risk and underserved | 7 | | kids with several programs and activities, including summer | 8 | | camps, sports, and after school spaces through its Strong Kids | 9 | | Fund; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, The Springfield Y will celebrate its 150th | 11 | | anniversary with a ribbon cutting ceremony and a celebration | 12 | | at the location of the organization's first meeting, First | 13 | | Presbyterian Church, on March 25, 2024; therefore, be it | 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 15 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 16 | | we congratulate the YMCA of Springfield (Springfield Y) on its | 17 | | 150th anniversary, thank the organization for its dedication | 18 | | to serving the City of Springfield, and wish its staff and | 19 | | volunteers continued success in the years to come; and be it | 20 | | further | 21 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 22 | | presented to the Springfield Y as an expression of our esteem |
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| 1 | | and respect. |
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