Full Text of HR0130 99th General Assembly
HR0130 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to
recognize the City of Greenville | 4 | | on the occasion of its 200th anniversary in
2015; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, The City of Greenville was founded in 1815 by | 6 | | George Davidson, 3
years before Illinois' statehood; in 1817, | 7 | | Bond County was formed, and, in 1820, Greenville
became the | 8 | | county seat; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, While the United States grew westward in the | 10 | | 1800s, important new
transportation routes came through | 11 | | Greenville; in the 1840s, local citizens completed the
National | 12 | | Road from Vandalia to St. Louis; intersecting with the National | 13 | | Road at Greenville was
the Black Diamond Trail, later known as | 14 | | Route 127, which connected Southern Illinois with
Springfield; | 15 | | 1870 saw the completion of the St. Louis, Vandalia, and Terre | 16 | | Haute Railroad,
which passed through Greenville, sustaining | 17 | | Greenville as a prominent industrial town; in the 1930s,
the | 18 | | building of present US Route 40, then one of the longest roads | 19 | | in the nation, started in the area; in 1968, the exit for | 20 | | Interstate 70, one of the busiest highways in the country, | 21 | | opened at
Greenville; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, In the 1840s, many Greenville homes were secretly |
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| 1 | | included as stops along
the Underground Railroad, helping | 2 | | former slaves escape north to freedom; many men in Greenville | 3 | | and Bond County served in State regiments during the Civil War, | 4 | | including parts of
the Illinois 130th, which fought in the | 5 | | Battle of Vicksburg; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, When Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas gave | 7 | | speeches during their
1858 race for the United States Senate, | 8 | | Douglas stated: "Ladies and Gentlemen it gives me great
and | 9 | | supreme gratification and pleasure to see this vast concord of | 10 | | people assembled to hear me
upon my first visit to Old Bond."; | 11 | | the Illinois State Register reported of the occasion: "I've | 12 | | seen
many gatherings in Old Bond County, but I never saw | 13 | | anything equal to this and I never expect
to"; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Greenville has continuously attracted industry | 15 | | since the 1890s, beginning with DeMoulin Brothers, makers of | 16 | | lodge initiation devices and uniforms, and Helvetia Milk
| 17 | | Condensing, which eventually became Pet Milk Company; | 18 | | throughout the 20th
century, many more businesses followed, | 19 | | including the Model Glove Company, Coates Steel Products, and
| 20 | | the Nevco Scoreboard Company; in the 1980s, Carlisle Syntec, | 21 | | Peterson Spring, and United
Stationers opened facilities in | 22 | | Greenville's 2 industrial parks; Donnewald Distributing | 23 | | Company is the
most recent enterprise to join the community; | 24 | | and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Greenville has a strong historical connection to | 2 | | education, including the
decision in the 1860s to institute a | 3 | | first-through-twelfth grade public education system, becoming
| 4 | | one of the earliest schools in Illinois to do so; also in that | 5 | | decade, Almira College began as an
all-women's school; in 1892, | 6 | | it became the co-educational Greenville College; in 1905, | 7 | | thanks to
a grant from Andrew Carnegie, the Ladies Social | 8 | | Circle opened the Greenville Public Library,
now included in | 9 | | the National Register of Historic Places; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, On November 21, 1915, the Liberty Bell passed | 11 | | through Greenville on its
nationwide tour returning to | 12 | | Pennsylvania from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition | 13 | | in
San Francisco; following the trip, the Liberty Bell returned | 14 | | to Pennsylvania, never to be moved
again; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Ronald Reagan visited Greenville on the campaign | 16 | | trail for President in
1980 and gave a speech on the street in | 17 | | front of the courthouse; his time there is commemorated
by a | 18 | | plaque; Barack Obama, elected President in November of 2008, | 19 | | also visited Greenville while campaigning for the Senate in | 20 | | 2004; therefore, be it
| 21 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 22 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we |
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| 1 | | recognize the City of Greenville on its rich 200 years of | 2 | | history and wish them
success and prosperity in the future; and | 3 | | be it further
| 4 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 5 | | presented to the City of
Greenville as a symbol of our esteem | 6 | | and respect.
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