HR0430 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0430 LRB102 19706 ECR 28479 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate the Village of Hodgkins on its 125-year anniversary and to congratulate Village President Noel Cummings for being the longest serving village president/mayor in the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, After several name changes, the Village of Hodgkins was incorporated in 1896 and named after the president of the Kimball and Cobb Stone Company, Jefferson Hodgkins; Modesto Lenzi became the village's first president that same year; and

WHEREAS, The first business to locate in Hodgkins was the Kimball and Cobb Stone Company on a piece of property sold by William and Jane Muxworthy in 1883; the business was sold to Vulcan Materials in 1897; and

WHEREAS, In the mid 1960s, the Santa Fe Railroad made available 275 acres of open land for future development in Hodgkins; among the many businesses located in the Santa Fe Improvement Park are the Continental Baking Company, Certified Grocers of Illinois, Sealed Air Corporation, and Liberty Publishing; and

WHEREAS, In 1988, negotiations began with the United Parcel Service (UPS) that resulted in the annexation of approximately 250 acres into Hodgkins directly to its west; and

WHEREAS, In 1989, UPS purchased the real estate that was formerly the abandoned Fisher Body division of General Motors; and

WHEREAS, By the time the UPS Consolidation Hub became operational, $279,110,000 had been invested into Hodgkins, and approximately 2,100 jobs were brought to the area during its first year of operation; and

WHEREAS, The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company constructed a new intermodal facility to serve the UPS Consolidation Hub; and

WHEREAS, In 1985, Hodgkins joined with the Village of McCook to create the McCook-Hodgkins Enterprise Zone, and the village created a Tax Increment Finance District in 1986; both of these tools offered better incentives to new businesses desiring to locate in the area; and

WHEREAS, Businesses located inside the Enterprise Zone include the UPS Consolidation Hub, Cummins Northern Illinois, J. Sterling, and Petro-Vend; and

WHEREAS, Restaurants in the Enterprise Zone include Lone Star Steak House, Applebee's, SubWay, and Casciani's Pizza; in 2001, a CITGO Mini-Mart Gas Station opened at the corner of East Avenue and Joliet Road; and

WHEREAS, In 1992, Celozzi-Ettleson Cadillac began selling upscale automobiles to the general public; in the fall of 1995, Hodgkins welcomed Continental Chevrolet, which greatly increased sales tax revenues, created more jobs, and increased the equalized assessed valuation of the Redevelopment Project Area in the village; and

WHEREAS, In the spring of 1996, the Republic Bank opened its new building in Hodgkins; and

WHEREAS, The Quarry Shopping Center was constructed on the site formerly occupied by several motor freight companies; the Village of Hodgkins assisted in the construction of the Quarry Shopping Center by selling bonds; and

WHEREAS, The construction of the Quarry Shopping Center resulted in 600 new jobs, and the assessed valuation of the property increased from $10,813,145 to almost $40 million dollars; and

WHEREAS, Major anchor stores at the Quarry Shopping Center include Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Kohl's, Office Max, Fashion Bug, Target, Pep Boys, Lane Bryant, Ulta 3, and many more, as well as The Quarry Cinema, a 14 screen movie theater; and

WHEREAS, President Noel Cummings has served as the village president of Hodgkins since 1979; he is the longest serving mayor/village president in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, President Noel Cummings and his wife Nelda have resided in Hodgkins for the past thirty-five years; he attended public grade school and high school in Burnsville, Mississippi and matriculated at North Eastern Mississippi Junior College; he served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947; and

WHEREAS, President Noel Cummings and his wife have two children; their son Daniel, a retired Lieutenant Colonel who served in the U.S. Army, and his wife Jean reside in San Antonio, Texas with their two sons, Brandon and Richard; the Cummings' daughter Sherry and her husband Daniel Klotz reside in Hodgkins and have one son, Joseph, who is attending Murray State College in Kentucky; and

WHEREAS, President Noel Cummings was employed as a supervisor at the International Harvester Company for 28 years; and

WHEREAS, President Noel Cummings served as a village trustee from 1975 to 1979 before serving as village president; and

WHEREAS, President Noel Cummings applied for and received grants to construct an on-off ramp at 1-294 and 75th Street, which was done to alleviate truck traffic through Hodgkins; he also connected Santa Fe Drive with 75th Street to allow easy access to 1- 294 for village residents; and

WHEREAS, Under President Noel Cummings' leadership, renovation of the historic Old Fire Station has been completed and upgrades to the Public Works Department continue; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the Village of Hodgkins on its 125 year anniversary and Village President Noel Cummings for being the longest serving village president/mayor in the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Hodgkins Village Board of Trustees and President Noel Cummings as a symbol of our esteem and respect.