Bill Text: IL HR0553 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulates the Village of Monee on the 150th anniversary of its founding.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-01-17 - Resolution Adopted [HR0553 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HR0553-Introduced.html

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HR0553 LRB103 37132 LAW 67251 r
HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives wish to congratulate the Village of Monee on
the occasion of the 150th anniversary of its founding by
Augustus Herbert in 1853; and
WHEREAS, In 1832, the Treaty of Camp Tippecanoe with the
Pottawatomie resulted in a gift of property to the five
daughters of Marie LeFevre Bailly, who was of half-French,
half-Ottawa descent, and her husband, Joseph Bailly; and
WHEREAS, While young Marie LeFevre Bailly was called
"Mah-ree" by the French, the Ottawa had no corresponding sound
for the letter "r" in their dialect, thus calling the little
girl "Mah-nee", and the area and later village were named
Monee in her honor; and
WHEREAS, In 1851, William Ogden, the first Mayor of
Chicago and leading investor in the Illinois Central Railroad
Company, purchased the property from the Bailly family for
five dollars an acre; and
WHEREAS, In 1853, the Village of Monee was platted for
founder August Herbert, who had obtained 160 acres in 1849
under a land warrant granted to him for services in the Mexican

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War; he then sold a tract of 40 acres of his initial 160 to the
Illinois Central Railroad Company, which was also platted,
with both tracts of land forming the Village of Monee; and
WHEREAS, That same year, the Illinois Central Railroad
established a station at Monee, and that station led to the
growth of the town, which soon boasted a general store, a
schoolhouse, and a grain warehouse with several elevators; and
WHEREAS, A little over two decades later, the Village of
Monee was incorporated on November 9, 1874; and
WHEREAS, In 1905, the Village of Monee hosted its first
Monee District Fair, which later evolved into the annual Fall
Fest, the Monee Review newspaper was established, and a new
schoolhouse was constructed; and
WHEREAS, In the 1950s, the Village of Monee's fire
department purchased land, which would eventually become
Firemen's Park, the American Legion Auxiliary established a
post, the first elementary school was built, Crete-Monee High
School was constructed and started classes, gas lines were
introduced, the construction of Interstate 57 was announced,
and the current post office opened; and
WHEREAS, In 1974, the Village of Monee celebrated its

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centennial with a number of events and activities, including a
parade, a play, the publication of a historical book, and the
burial of a time capsule; and
WHEREAS, In 2016, the Village of Monee's Monee Creamery
was granted Will County landmark status for it being one of the
last creamery structures in the county constructed out of
local Lockport limestone, achieving said status thanks to the
efforts made by the Save the Creamery Foundation, which
evolved into the Monee Historical Society; and
WHEREAS, With over 5,000 residents, multiple local and
global businesses, and the cohesive Monee's Alliance of
Churches (MAC), the Village of Monee has ample reason to
commemorate the achievements and legacy of the past 150 years,
while also eagerly anticipating the promising future that lies
ahead; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we congratulate the Village of Monee on the 150th anniversary
of its founding; and be it further