Full Text of HR0461 94th General Assembly
HR0461 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The Village of Livingston marks its 100th | 3 |
| anniversary in 2005; and
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| WHEREAS, Livingston was incorporated in 1905; and
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| WHEREAS, In the late 1890s-1900s, William Bennett had | 6 |
| businesses on the prairie of Olive Township in northern Madison | 7 |
| County; he operated a cane and grist mill, blacksmith shop, | 8 |
| woodworking shop, and several homes; this was the first | 9 |
| settling of a community that later became Livingston; and
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| WHEREAS, Coal was found on the property of the Livingston | 11 |
| family; a mine was sunk, coal was mined, and the Big "4" built | 12 |
| a railroad along the mine site; and
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| WHEREAS, The population grew and the new residents were | 14 |
| from Italy, France, Germany, British Isles, and the | 15 |
| Austrian-Hungarian area with the Balkan States; and
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| WHEREAS, There were people from the mine waiting at the | 17 |
| train station to recruit miners as they left the train; these | 18 |
| men brought their families from Europe; houses were needed, | 19 |
| churches were built, and the mine operated a company store; | 20 |
| people of prosperity opened a bank and a post office was | 21 |
| established; many of the new residents were not miners; some | 22 |
| opened saloons, pool halls, boarding houses, diners, and even | 23 |
| movie houses, and bootleggers were in abundance; in 1926, a | 24 |
| resident requested a license to broadcast from Livingston but | 25 |
| nothing developed; and
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| WHEREAS, Schools were established and the children of these | 27 |
| immigrants were the first pupils; times were good, but then the | 28 |
| coal started to give out and unrest developed; World War I took | 29 |
| many of the young men and they saw the world and went on to |
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| bigger things; World War II changed the community again; | 2 |
| residents left to
serve in the war effort and never returned, | 3 |
| and the Village deteriorated; after World War II, Route 66 was | 4 |
| built and several small filling stations and restaurants | 5 |
| opened, but because the Village was located between Springfield | 6 |
| and St. Louis, Missouri, no businesses came to town; Route 66 | 7 |
| became Interstate 55, and now the Village is a bedroom | 8 |
| community with a Grade School; the Junior High and High School | 9 |
| students
are bussed to Staunton; and
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| WHEREAS, The Village of Livingston is like so many | 11 |
| communities in Illinois in that it is struggling to stay alive, | 12 |
| but it is still a good place to live; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 14 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 15 |
| we congratulate the Village of Livingston on the occasion of | 16 |
| its 100th anniversary; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 |
| presented to the Village of Livingston as an expression of our | 19 |
| esteem and best wishes for the future.
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