Full Text of HR1047 95th General Assembly
HR1047 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR1047 |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to congratulate the citizens of the | 4 |
| City of Wood River on the occasion of the city's 100th | 5 |
| anniversary; and
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| WHEREAS, The history of Wood River began in the winter of | 7 |
| 1803-04, when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set up their | 8 |
| headquarters at Camp Du Bois, at the mouth of Wood River, in | 9 |
| preparation for their famous expedition; and
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| WHEREAS, Throughout the 19th century, the Wood River valley | 11 |
| remained mostly empty, except for railroad tracks and scattered | 12 |
| farms; interest was renewed in the area in 1907, when the | 13 |
| Standard Oil Refinery arrived in the Wood River valley; the | 14 |
| factory, which produced kerosene, fuel oil, paraffin, asphalt, | 15 |
| and eventually gasoline, attracted large numbers of settlers | 16 |
| who wished to work there; the same year, A.E. Benbow, a local | 17 |
| entrepreneur, founded Benbow City to accommodate those | 18 |
| workers; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1908, the City of Wood River was incorporated | 20 |
| and developed around Benbow City; after the merger of Wood | 21 |
| River and East Wood River in 1911, Benbow City was annexed in | 22 |
| 1917, creating the modern City of Wood River; and
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| WHEREAS, The City of Wood River became one of the fastest | 2 |
| growing communities in the country, containing more factory | 3 |
| workers than houses by the 1920s; many Sears and Roebuck | 4 |
| catalog homes were ordered by Standard Oil to accommodate the | 5 |
| burgeoning demand; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1957, The Standard Oil Refinery was modernized, | 7 |
| making the Wood River Refinery one of the leading industries in | 8 |
| the area, with chemical additives added to the list of consumer | 9 |
| products shipped from Wood River; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, After the closing of Amoco Oil Company's oil | 11 |
| refining operations at Wood River Refinery in 1980 and the | 12 |
| closing of the Wood River plant in 1995, the citizens of Wood | 13 |
| River were forced to make many changes to their local economy, | 14 |
| a feat they pursued with spectacular efficiency; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, In celebration of the city's 100th anniversary, | 16 |
| the citizens of Wood River have planned numerous events | 17 |
| throughout the year of 2008, including a fireworks display at | 18 |
| Belk Park, an ice cream social in Central Park, and the | 19 |
| Downtown Croatian-Italian Fall Festival; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, The great prosperity and growth that the City of | 21 |
| Wood River has enjoyed is a direct result of the hard work
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| dedication of its fine citizens; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 3 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 4 |
| congratulate the citizens of the City of Wood River on the | 5 |
| occasion of the city's 100th anniversary and wish them | 6 |
| continued success and happiness in the future; and be it | 7 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 |
| presented to Wood River Mayor Fred Ufert as a symbol of our | 10 |
| esteem and respect.
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