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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate the City of | ||||||
| 4 | Belleville as it celebrates the 200th anniversary of its | ||||||
| 5 | founding in 2014; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Belleville was the center of the first important | ||||||
| 7 | German settlement in the State of Illinois; the influence of | ||||||
| 8 | Koerner, Hilgard, Bunsen, Abend, and Engleman was felt in law, | ||||||
| 9 | journalism, education, science, and industry; Bornman, Braun, | ||||||
| 10 | Gundlach, Eimer, Knoebel, and Brosius left similar impressions | ||||||
| 11 | on the mechanical industry; by 1870, Belleville was the | ||||||
| 12 | second-largest producer of manufactured goods in the State, | ||||||
| 13 | tied with Peoria and second only to Chicago; it was the leading | ||||||
| 14 | cigar revenue district of Southern Illinois, and the company | ||||||
| 15 | which manufactures "Jelly Belly" candy was founded by 2 German | ||||||
| 16 | candy makers in 1968; Belleville is credited with having the | ||||||
| 17 | first electric trolley in the State; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Following the Civil War, Belleville's industry | ||||||
| 19 | gravitated towards stove casting and it earned the moniker | ||||||
| 20 | "Stove Capital of the World", and Belleville continues to this | ||||||
| 21 | day to produce high-quality stoves and heating products; it was | ||||||
| 22 | with the advent of steam-powered railroads that Belleville, a | ||||||
| 23 | landlocked community, was pushed into the Industrial Era; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, During the first 50 years of the Illinois | ||||||
| 2 | territory and its subsequent statehood, Ninian Edwards, John | ||||||
| 3 | Reynolds and William Bissell - all Belleville men - held the | ||||||
| 4 | office of the Governor; William Kinney and Gustave Koerner held | ||||||
| 5 | the office of the Lt. Governor and James Shields was a hero in | ||||||
| 6 | the Mexican War; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, The American Miners Association was founded in | ||||||
| 8 | Belleville in 1861, the first attempt to form a national miners | ||||||
| 9 | union; its coal provided energy and wealth to fuel a post-civil | ||||||
| 10 | war industrial boom, providing jobs for union workers in the | ||||||
| 11 | production of stoves, shoes, and cigars; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, The celebration will culminate in an event | ||||||
| 13 | extravaganza the weekend of September 19-21, 2014, covering 9 | ||||||
| 14 | blocks in downtown Belleville and including 3 days of music, | ||||||
| 15 | food, drinks, craft vendors, and historical demonstrations, | ||||||
| 16 | along with a Civil War reenactment and a vintage baseball | ||||||
| 17 | tournament; therefore, be it
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| 18 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 19 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 20 | we congratulate the City of Belleville as it celebrates the | ||||||
| 21 | 200th anniversary of its founding; and be it further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | presented to the City of Belleville as an expression of our | ||||||
| 3 | esteem and respect.
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