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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate the members of the
4Monroe County Electric Co-Operative on the 75th anniversary of
5their cooperative; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Monroe County Electric Co-Operative was
7officially organized on June 2, 1938, in Waterloo, Illinois,
8through the hard work and dedication of a handful of local
9residents wanting to improve living and farming conditions for
10themselves and their neighbors; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Because of the lack of density, it simply was not
12possible for the for-profit utilities to make a profit serving
13rural areas with only a few farms or homes per mile of electric
14line; with the help of loans from the Rural Electrification
15Administration, these rural people banded together to form
16rural member-owned and member-governed electric cooperatives;
17and
 
18    WHEREAS, This group of local residents went door to door
19signing up their neighbors to become members of the Monroe
20County Electric Co-Operative and convincing them that a
21cooperative would bring lights and power to the rural area; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Their hard work paid off and the Monroe County
2Electric Co-Operative's lines were first energized on October
320, 1939, initially serving 383 member-owners in 3 counties;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, The Monroe County Electric Co-Operative continues
6to provides reliable electric service to member-owners in
7Monroe, Randolph, and St. Clair counties; and
 
8    WHEREAS, For 75 years, the Monroe County Electric
9Co-Operative has served its member-owners based on 7 guiding
10principles: voluntary and open membership, member-elected and
11controlled boards of directors, members' economic
12participation, autonomy and independence, education and
13training, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for
14community; therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
16NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
17we congratulate the Monroe County Electric Co-Operative on its
1875th anniversary; and be it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to the Monroe County Electric Co-Operative as a
21symbol of our esteem and respect.