Bill Text: IL HR0751 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulates the Franklin Park Public Library on its first 125 years of operation. Expresses hope that the Franklin Park Public Library continues to be a bulwark of the community, the children of Franklin Park, and the people of Franklin Park for at least another 125 years.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-05-06 - Resolution Adopted [HR0751 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HR0751-Introduced.html

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HR0751 LRB103 40465 MST 72842 r
HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives wish to congratulate the Franklin Park Public
Library on the completion of its first 125 years of operation;
and
WHEREAS, In the closing months of the 19th century, a
group of residents of Franklin Park, mostly women, decided
that their Illinois community deserved to have a library; and
WHEREAS, The Franklin Park Ladies Literary and Social
Club, later renamed the Franklin Park Women's Club, asked
their neighbors to bring books to Wasson's store at 9602
Franklin Avenue, and the first book was donated on April 15,
1899; and
WHEREAS, The small store, which also sold ice cream,
cigars, and other goods, was the first home of the Franklin
Park Library for more than a decade; from 1916 until 1932, the
library was moved to other locations; and
WHEREAS, The Great Depression was a threat to the survival
of the Franklin Park Library, and in 1932, it suspended its
operations for four years until 1936; and

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WHEREAS, With help from the New Deal, the Franklin Park
Women's Club reopened the Franklin Park Library in 1936;
control of the library moved to the Village of Franklin Park in
1941, but it continued to move through a series of municipal
and private-sector locations; and
WHEREAS, During the 1960s and 1970s, the people of
Franklin Park demonstrated by referendum their increasing
support for the Franklin Park Library, authorizing a property
tax for its support in 1962 and approving its promotion to the
status of a Special Service District in 1970, which made it
possible to construct a new, free-standing library; and
WHEREAS, The current Franklin Park Public Library was
dedicated on April 1, 1984, and it was then expanded with the
addition of a children's library space and two meeting rooms
and dedicated on January 29, 1989; and
WHEREAS, As of 2024, the Franklin Park Public Library's
collection exceeds 111,000 volumes and items of audiovisual
material, including items in the library's collection of local
history; and
WHEREAS, This successful collection dates back to the time
of President William McKinley; therefore, be it

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RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we congratulate the Franklin Park Public Library on the
completion of its first 125 years of operation; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That we hope that the Franklin Park Public
Library continues to be a bulwark of the community, the
children of Franklin Park, and the people of Franklin Park for
at least another 125 years; and be it further