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91_HR0653 LRB9113475CBcb 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, In 1850, Zachary Taylor was serving as this 3 great nation's twelfth president; and 4 WHEREAS, The Underground Railroad was founded by 5 emancipationist Harriet Tubman and began providing safe 6 passage from slavery to freedom for hundreds of American 7 slaves; and 8 WHEREAS, The United States was undergoing considerable 9 growing pains during an era that became known as the Machine 10 Age; and 11 WHEREAS, 150 years ago, Elizabeth Blackwell began her 12 first year in practice as a medical doctor, the first woman 13 in the United States to practice medicine with a degree 14 earned from an American medical school; and 15 WHEREAS, In Illinois, the first township governments were 16 established in 1850, a century and a half ago, as the Prairie 17 State continued its emergence as one of the most progressive 18 states in the Union; and 19 WHEREAS, In adopting township government as one of its 20 systems of local rule, Illinois voters chose the oldest form 21 of government in existence on the North American continent, a 22 form of government that was brought to the New World by 23 Pilgrims when they landed on the eastern seaboard in 1636; 24 and 25 WHEREAS, Zachary Taylor has long been forgotten by all 26 but the most fervent historians, slavery has been effectively 27 abolished for 135 years, machines are being replaced by 28 high-tech computers, and women in medical school are nearly 29 as prominent as men, but township government continues to 30 serve and thrive; and -2- LRB9113475CBcb 1 WHEREAS, In April, 2000, township government in Illinois 2 celebrates its sesquicentennial anniversary as the government 3 of "the people next door", a local government that continues 4 to serve its constituents with efficiency and dedication; 5 therefore, be it 6 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 7 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 8 we congratulate our local township officials as they 9 celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first township 10 governments in Illinois; and be it further 11 RESOLVED, That we extend to our local township officials 12 our best wishes for continued success in the service of the 13 people who depend on townships for essential government 14 services; and be it further 15 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 16 delivered to the Township Officials of Illinois to serve as a 17 tribute to the sesquicentennial celebration of township 18 government in Illinois.