Bill Text: IL HR0245 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Congratulates the City of Salem on its bicentennial anniversary as the county seat of Marion County. Honors the achievements of its citizens and its role in Illinois and U.S. history. Wishes it another 200 years of success.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-05-02 - Resolution Adopted [HR0245 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-HR0245-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives wish to congratulate the City of Salem on the | ||||||
4 | occasion of its bicentennial as the county seat of Marion | ||||||
5 | County; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The largest series of earthquakes in the history | ||||||
7 | of the new American republic brought the first settlers to | ||||||
8 | Salem; the New Madrid, Missouri earthquakes of 1811 to 1812, | ||||||
9 | which caused the Mississippi River to flow backward and church | ||||||
10 | bells to ring as far away as Boston, sent Captain Samuel Young | ||||||
11 | searching for a more hospitable home; after finding abundant | ||||||
12 | game and tranquility when he reached the land of present-day | ||||||
13 | Salem, he made camp on what is now the courthouse square; and
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14 | WHEREAS, In the 1820s, a severe drought hit northern and | ||||||
15 | central Illinois, which contributed to wagonloads of people | ||||||
16 | traveling to southern Illinois to obtain food and grain for | ||||||
17 | themselves and their livestock; this migration was compared to | ||||||
18 | the Biblical story of Israel going to Egypt to purchase grain; | ||||||
19 | thus, southern Illinois became known as "Egypt" or "Little | ||||||
20 | Egypt", with Salem being referred to as the "Gateway of Little | ||||||
21 | Egypt"; and
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22 | WHEREAS, Salem is situated halfway between the Indiana and |
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1 | Missouri borders on what was originally the Vincennes-St. | ||||||
2 | Louis Road, known today as U.S. Highway 50 that goes from | ||||||
3 | Washington, D.C. to San Francisco, evolving the city into a | ||||||
4 | stagecoach stop along the Vincennes Trail; although most of | ||||||
5 | the Conestoga wagons rolled through the city, enough stopped | ||||||
6 | to deposit their cargoes that Salem was eventually | ||||||
7 | incorporated as a village in 1855; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Marion County was created on January 24, 1823; | ||||||
9 | the legislation, sponsored by State Representative Zadoc Casey | ||||||
10 | of Mount Vernon, stated that for the purpose of fixing the | ||||||
11 | permanent seat of justice for the county, or the "county | ||||||
12 | seat", a selection would be recommended by three appointed | ||||||
13 | commissioners, who were Andrew Bankson, William Hicks, and | ||||||
14 | John G. Fitch; and
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15 | WHEREAS, The commissioners, after viewing the situation of | ||||||
16 | the county and examining the different donations offered, | ||||||
17 | decided to fix the permanent seat of justice of Marion County | ||||||
18 | on 30 acres of land offered by James Roberts, making their | ||||||
19 | decision on May 13, 1823; and
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20 | WHEREAS, At the first meeting of the Marion County | ||||||
21 | Commissioners on June 2, 1823, the location of the seat of | ||||||
22 | justice was accepted, and the commissioners' court ordered | ||||||
23 | that this seat be known and designated by the name Salem; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Local history indicates that the town of Salem | ||||||
2 | was first known as Decatur; however, when the founding fathers | ||||||
3 | went to register the town at the then state capitol of | ||||||
4 | Vandalia, they learned the name Decatur had already been | ||||||
5 | selected for another community in Illinois; due to the | ||||||
6 | religious influence of the town fathers, they selected the | ||||||
7 | name "Salem" as the town's permanent name, which is featured | ||||||
8 | in the Old Testament and derives from the Hebrew word meaning | ||||||
9 | "Jerusalem"; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Salem's next 200 years have included a rich | ||||||
11 | history influenced by and involving agriculture, railroads, | ||||||
12 | the discovery of oil and coal, the development and expansion | ||||||
13 | of commerce and industry, and the influence of local leaders | ||||||
14 | on local, state, and federal public policy; and
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15 | WHEREAS, William Jennings Bryan, known as "The | ||||||
16 | Silver-Tongued Orator", is one of Salem's most famous | ||||||
17 | citizens; he was the presidential nominee for the Democratic | ||||||
18 | Party three times, represented Nebraska in the U.S. House of | ||||||
19 | Representatives, and served as the Secretary of State under | ||||||
20 | President Woodrow Wilson; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Salem is also home of John Thomas Scopes, a 1919 | ||||||
22 | graduate of Salem High School whose commencement speaker was |
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1 | William Jennings Bryan; at 24 years old, Scopes was indicted | ||||||
2 | for teaching evolution at a high school in Dayton, Tennessee; | ||||||
3 | William Jennings Bryan served as a prosecutor at the | ||||||
4 | subsequent trial, notably referred to as the Scopes Monkey | ||||||
5 | Trial or The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Salem is rich in local lore and legends, | ||||||
7 | including being the birthplace of the condiment Miracle Whip; | ||||||
8 | the restaurateur behind Max Crossett's Café, an eatery located | ||||||
9 | at 100 North Washington, claimed that the Kraft Company bought | ||||||
10 | the café's recipe of Max's X-tra Fine Salad Dressing for $300 | ||||||
11 | in 1931, which was then renamed Kraft's Miracle Whip; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Another Salem legend surrounds the Halfway | ||||||
13 | Tavern, located on U.S. 50 just east of Salem and halfway | ||||||
14 | between St. Louis, Missouri and Vincennes, Indiana; originally | ||||||
15 | constructed in 1815, the establishment was used as both an inn | ||||||
16 | and livery stable; there has been speculation that one of the | ||||||
17 | customers was a young attorney named Abraham Lincoln during a | ||||||
18 | time when he and other lawyers "rode the circuit" from | ||||||
19 | courthouse to courthouse to try cases; some years ago, the | ||||||
20 | State of Illinois took over the property, making it a historic | ||||||
21 | site; and
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22 | WHEREAS, In the 1930s, Salem transformed from a | ||||||
23 | quiet-paced small town, doing its best to recover from the |
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1 | Great Depression, to a city hit with another severe jolt in its | ||||||
2 | economy due to the oil boom; the city was noted for having the | ||||||
3 | second highest amount of oil production in any one area when 93 | ||||||
4 | million barrels of oil were pumped from area farmland in 1939; | ||||||
5 | and
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6 | WHEREAS, Salem is known as the "Birthplace of the G.I. | ||||||
7 | Bill of Rights", otherwise known as the Servicemen's | ||||||
8 | Readjustment Act of 1944; this Act was forged from the | ||||||
9 | knowledge of Salem's own Luther B. Easley American Legion Post | ||||||
10 | 128 on November 4, 1943, and it was drafted by Omar J. McMackin | ||||||
11 | and Earl W. Merritt, both of Salem, former Governor John | ||||||
12 | Stelle of McLeansboro, Dr. Leonard W. Esper of Springfield, | ||||||
13 | George H. Bauer of Effingham, William R. McCauley of Olney, | ||||||
14 | James P. Ringley of Lemont, and A. L. Starshak of Chicago; | ||||||
15 | former Governor Stelle was with President Franklin D. | ||||||
16 | Roosevelt when he signed it into law in Washington, D.C. on | ||||||
17 | June 22, 1944; therefore, be it
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18 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
19 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
20 | we congratulate the City of Salem on its bicentennial | ||||||
21 | anniversary as the county seat of Marion County, and we honor | ||||||
22 | the achievements of its citizens and its role in Illinois and | ||||||
23 | U.S. history; and be it further
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1 | RESOLVED, That we wish the City of Salem another 200 years | ||||||
2 | of success; and be it further
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3 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
4 | presented to City of Salem as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
5 | respect.
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