Full Text of HR0245 103rd General Assembly
HR0245 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate the City of Salem on the | 4 | | occasion of its bicentennial as the county seat of Marion | 5 | | County; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The largest series of earthquakes in the history | 7 | | of the new American republic brought the first settlers to | 8 | | Salem; the New Madrid, Missouri earthquakes of 1811 to 1812, | 9 | | which caused the Mississippi River to flow backward and church | 10 | | bells to ring as far away as Boston, sent Captain Samuel Young | 11 | | searching for a more hospitable home; after finding abundant | 12 | | game and tranquility when he reached the land of present-day | 13 | | Salem, he made camp on what is now the courthouse square; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, In the 1820s, a severe drought hit northern and | 15 | | central Illinois, which contributed to wagonloads of people | 16 | | traveling to southern Illinois to obtain food and grain for | 17 | | themselves and their livestock; this migration was compared to | 18 | | the Biblical story of Israel going to Egypt to purchase grain; | 19 | | thus, southern Illinois became known as "Egypt" or "Little | 20 | | Egypt", with Salem being referred to as the "Gateway of Little | 21 | | Egypt"; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Salem is situated halfway between the Indiana and |
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| 1 | | Missouri borders on what was originally the Vincennes-St. | 2 | | Louis Road, known today as U.S. Highway 50 that goes from | 3 | | Washington, D.C. to San Francisco, evolving the city into a | 4 | | stagecoach stop along the Vincennes Trail; although most of | 5 | | the Conestoga wagons rolled through the city, enough stopped | 6 | | to deposit their cargoes that Salem was eventually | 7 | | incorporated as a village in 1855; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Marion County was created on January 24, 1823; | 9 | | the legislation, sponsored by State Representative Zadoc Casey | 10 | | of Mount Vernon, stated that for the purpose of fixing the | 11 | | permanent seat of justice for the county, or the "county | 12 | | seat", a selection would be recommended by three appointed | 13 | | commissioners, who were Andrew Bankson, William Hicks, and | 14 | | John G. Fitch; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, The commissioners, after viewing the situation of | 16 | | the county and examining the different donations offered, | 17 | | decided to fix the permanent seat of justice of Marion County | 18 | | on 30 acres of land offered by James Roberts, making their | 19 | | decision on May 13, 1823; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, At the first meeting of the Marion County | 21 | | Commissioners on June 2, 1823, the location of the seat of | 22 | | justice was accepted, and the commissioners' court ordered | 23 | | that this seat be known and designated by the name Salem; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Local history indicates that the town of Salem | 2 | | was first known as Decatur; however, when the founding fathers | 3 | | went to register the town at the then state capitol of | 4 | | Vandalia, they learned the name Decatur had already been | 5 | | selected for another community in Illinois; due to the | 6 | | religious influence of the town fathers, they selected the | 7 | | name "Salem" as the town's permanent name, which is featured | 8 | | in the Old Testament and derives from the Hebrew word meaning | 9 | | "Jerusalem"; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Salem's next 200 years have included a rich | 11 | | history influenced by and involving agriculture, railroads, | 12 | | the discovery of oil and coal, the development and expansion | 13 | | of commerce and industry, and the influence of local leaders | 14 | | on local, state, and federal public policy; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, William Jennings Bryan, known as "The | 16 | | Silver-Tongued Orator", is one of Salem's most famous | 17 | | citizens; he was the presidential nominee for the Democratic | 18 | | Party three times, represented Nebraska in the U.S. House of | 19 | | Representatives, and served as the Secretary of State under | 20 | | President Woodrow Wilson; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Salem is also home of John Thomas Scopes, a 1919 | 22 | | graduate of Salem High School whose commencement speaker was |
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| 1 | | William Jennings Bryan; at 24 years old, Scopes was indicted | 2 | | for teaching evolution at a high school in Dayton, Tennessee; | 3 | | William Jennings Bryan served as a prosecutor at the | 4 | | subsequent trial, notably referred to as the Scopes Monkey | 5 | | Trial or The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Salem is rich in local lore and legends, | 7 | | including being the birthplace of the condiment Miracle Whip; | 8 | | the restaurateur behind Max Crossett's Café, an eatery located | 9 | | at 100 North Washington, claimed that the Kraft Company bought | 10 | | the café's recipe of Max's X-tra Fine Salad Dressing for $300 | 11 | | in 1931, which was then renamed Kraft's Miracle Whip; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Another Salem legend surrounds the Halfway | 13 | | Tavern, located on U.S. 50 just east of Salem and halfway | 14 | | between St. Louis, Missouri and Vincennes, Indiana; originally | 15 | | constructed in 1815, the establishment was used as both an inn | 16 | | and livery stable; there has been speculation that one of the | 17 | | customers was a young attorney named Abraham Lincoln during a | 18 | | time when he and other lawyers "rode the circuit" from | 19 | | courthouse to courthouse to try cases; some years ago, the | 20 | | State of Illinois took over the property, making it a historic | 21 | | site; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, In the 1930s, Salem transformed from a | 23 | | quiet-paced small town, doing its best to recover from the |
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| 1 | | Great Depression, to a city hit with another severe jolt in its | 2 | | economy due to the oil boom; the city was noted for having the | 3 | | second highest amount of oil production in any one area when 93 | 4 | | million barrels of oil were pumped from area farmland in 1939; | 5 | | and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Salem is known as the "Birthplace of the G.I. | 7 | | Bill of Rights", otherwise known as the Servicemen's | 8 | | Readjustment Act of 1944; this Act was forged from the | 9 | | knowledge of Salem's own Luther B. Easley American Legion Post | 10 | | 128 on November 4, 1943, and it was drafted by Omar J. McMackin | 11 | | and Earl W. Merritt, both of Salem, former Governor John | 12 | | Stelle of McLeansboro, Dr. Leonard W. Esper of Springfield, | 13 | | George H. Bauer of Effingham, William R. McCauley of Olney, | 14 | | James P. Ringley of Lemont, and A. L. Starshak of Chicago; | 15 | | former Governor Stelle was with President Franklin D. | 16 | | Roosevelt when he signed it into law in Washington, D.C. on | 17 | | June 22, 1944; therefore, be it
| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 19 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 20 | | we congratulate the City of Salem on its bicentennial | 21 | | anniversary as the county seat of Marion County, and we honor | 22 | | the achievements of its citizens and its role in Illinois and | 23 | | U.S. history; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That we wish the City of Salem another 200 years | 2 | | of success; and be it further
| 3 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 4 | | presented to City of Salem as an expression of our esteem and | 5 | | respect.
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