Full Text of HR0460 101st General Assembly
HR0460 101ST 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 Fairview | 4 | | Heights on the occasion of its 50th anniversary; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Germans and other European immigrants established | 6 | | farms in the Fairview Heights area, then known as Ridge | 7 | | Prairie, by the mid 1800s; early pioneers included Irishman | 8 | | William Kinsella, great-grandfather of Marilyn Kinsella, a | 9 | | storyteller, retired educator, and member of the 50th | 10 | | anniversary committee; his two-story, hand-hewn log cabin, | 11 | | which was built in 1854, still stands in Pleasant Ridge Park; | 12 | | and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, One of the community's early hubs was the | 14 | | intersection of what is now Bunkum Road and Lincoln Trail, | 15 | | where there was a brickyard, a farmhouse that served as an inn, | 16 | | and the original one-room Grant School; the tavern and trading | 17 | | post operated by Henry Becherer, later known as the Ridge | 18 | | Prairie Saloon, was another center of activity; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, The first of seven coal mines opened in 1903; the | 20 | | name Fairview was first used in an advertisement by a land | 21 | | developer after the streetcar was extended to the area in an | 22 | | effort to appeal to people living in St. Louis; Raymond |
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| 1 | | Fairbrother, a resident from East St. Louis, platted the first | 2 | | residential subdivisions in 1906; posters described the | 3 | | subdivision as a place "where life is worth living"; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, In 1914, local residents formed the Fairview | 5 | | Improvement Association and raised money for sidewalks and | 6 | | roads; a mercantile store, owned by the Shively family and | 7 | | later the Gaidos, opened in 1916; East St. Louis Light and | 8 | | Power Company began delivering electricity in 1924; the | 9 | | association bought a used fire truck in 1933, leading to the | 10 | | organization of a volunteer fire department; throughout the | 11 | | 1940s and 1950s, subdivisions, stores, and restaurants were | 12 | | developed; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, One of the most notable landmarks, St. Albert the | 14 | | Great Catholic Parish's round church, was built in 1967; by the | 15 | | mid 1960s, local residents began asking for a post office; a | 16 | | referendum was held to decide whether to call the area Ridge | 17 | | Prairie, Lincoln Heights, or Fairview Heights; the later won by | 18 | | a three-to-one margin; residents voted to incorporate in a | 19 | | special election on September 27, 1969; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Warren Baker was appointed as temporary city clerk | 21 | | and helped to plan the first Fairview Heights Election on | 22 | | December 16, 1969; voters elected Everett Moody as Mayor and | 23 | | Les Klein as City Clerk; Charles Baricevic, father of former |
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| 1 | | St. Clair County Board Chairman and Chief Circuit Judge John | 2 | | Baricevic, was an original alderman; the City bought its first | 3 | | fleet of four police cars at the Oliver Dee Joseph dealership | 4 | | in Belleville; Longacre Park, later renamed Moody Park, was | 5 | | dedicated in 1976; a year later, the old Pleasant View | 6 | | tuberculosis sanitorium was purchased and converted into City | 7 | | Hall; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Fairview Heights saw the construction of its first | 9 | | large discount store, Venture, in 1969; Macy's opened in 1973, | 10 | | and St. Clair Square, a two-level shopping mall, opened a year | 11 | | later; the metro-east section of Interstate 64, which traced | 12 | | U.S. 50 and improved access for shoppers throughout the region, | 13 | | opened in 1975; commercial growth continued in the 1990s with | 14 | | the construction of the Stonewolf Golf Club, the Four Points by | 15 | | Sheraton Conference Center, and the 280,000-square-foot | 16 | | Fairview Heights Shopping Center; a MetroLink stop opened in | 17 | | 2001; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Today, the City of Fairview Heights has evolved | 19 | | into a shopping mecca that attracts people from all over the | 20 | | region; it issues nearly 1,000 licenses to stores, restaurants, | 21 | | hotels, and other businesses annually; it is one of the few | 22 | | municipalities that does not levy property taxes, and most | 23 | | government programs and services are funded by sales tax | 24 | | revenue; the population is just over 17,000; because of the |
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| 1 | | shopping, dining, and other commerce, including the people who | 2 | | work in the City, the population swells to 50,000 by day and | 3 | | can go up to 70,000 during the peak holiday season; the City | 4 | | employs 42 police officers; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, A committee has planned eight public events to | 6 | | celebrate the City's anniversary, including the early-May | 7 | | opening of The Rec, Heritage Day, a concert at Moody Park, a | 8 | | cake decorating contest, a time capsule burial, a parade and | 9 | | Party in the Park, an open house at City Hall, and an | 10 | | Anniversary Ball; therefore, be it
| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 12 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 13 | | we congratulate the City of Fairview Heights on the occasion of | 14 | | its 50th anniversary and wish the City many more successful | 15 | | years; and be it further
| 16 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 17 | | presented to Mayor Mark Kupsky as an expression of our esteem | 18 | | and respect.
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