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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives wish to extend hearty congratulations to the | ||||||
4 | citizens of the City of Crystal Lake in McHenry County on the | ||||||
5 | occasion of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the City's | ||||||
6 | charter; and
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7 | WHEREAS, The City of Crystal Lake is located 50 miles | ||||||
8 | northwest of Chicago; it is currently McHenry County's largest | ||||||
9 | municipality; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Crystal Lake's origins can be traced to 2 separate | ||||||
11 | communities, Crystal Lake and Nunda, both of which were | ||||||
12 | established in the 1800s; and
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13 | WHEREAS, In 1836, Beman and Polly Tuttle Crandall and 6 | ||||||
14 | children traveled from New York to Crystal Lake in a covered | ||||||
15 | wagon; they eventually built a log cabin in the vicinity of | ||||||
16 | what is today the intersection of Virginia Street and Van Buren | ||||||
17 | Street; they soon discovered a sparkling clear lake, tall | ||||||
18 | timber, and vast prairies; and
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19 | WHEREAS, By August of 1836, the United States government | ||||||
20 | granted homestead rights to the Crandalls; in May of 1837, | ||||||
21 | Hajah Beardsley's family was the second to settle in Crystal |
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1 | Lake; the town was first known as Crystal Ville, but prior to | ||||||
2 | 1840 it was changed to Crystal Lake; and
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3 | WHEREAS, The Village of Crystal Lake was platted in 1840 by | ||||||
4 | Beman Crandall, Christopher Walkup, and Abner Beardsley; the | ||||||
5 | village had the boundaries of Virginia Street to the north, | ||||||
6 | Lake Avenue to the south, McHenry Avenue to the east, and Dole | ||||||
7 | Avenue to the west; an old trail, forged by the Sac and Fox | ||||||
8 | tribes, extended from Fort Dearborn in Chicago to northwest | ||||||
9 | Wisconsin, with the portion through Crystal Lake known as | ||||||
10 | today's Route 14; and
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11 | WHEREAS, The Village of Nunda was established in 1855 with | ||||||
12 | the Chicago, St. Paul, and Fond du Lac railroad, the first | ||||||
13 | direct rail connection from Chicago; the Village was platted | ||||||
14 | later that year by local surveyor John Brink; and
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15 | WHEREAS, In 1856, a rail spur line, which today is known as | ||||||
16 | Dole Avenue, was built from the Village of Nunda to Crystal | ||||||
17 | Lake to transport ice cut from the lake to Chicago and to bring | ||||||
18 | visitors from Chicago to the area; and
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19 | WHEREAS, The Villages of Crystal Lake and Nunda were each | ||||||
20 | incorporated in 1874; in 1908, the name of the Village of Nunda | ||||||
21 | was changed to North Crystal Lake; and
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1 | WHEREAS, The Village's first public library opened in 1913 | ||||||
2 | with a small collection of books and magazines; today, that | ||||||
3 | library circulates more than one million items each year; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, After several attempts to consolidate the 2 | ||||||
5 | villages failed, on April 28, 1914, the Village of North | ||||||
6 | Crystal Lake was finally annexed into the Village of Crystal | ||||||
7 | Lake; a City form of government was established at that time; | ||||||
8 | on September 23, 1914, the City of Crystal Lake Charter was | ||||||
9 | adopted; and
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10 | WHEREAS, The City of Crystal Lake's first mayor was Mayor | ||||||
11 | William Pinnow, who served from 1914 to 1917; a total of 16 | ||||||
12 | mayors have presided over the City since that time; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, In 1914, there was one public high school and one | ||||||
14 | public grade school in Crystal Lake; today, the community's | ||||||
15 | children attend 2 of the very best public school systems in the | ||||||
16 | region - Elementary School District 47 and Community High | ||||||
17 | School District 155; and
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18 | WHEREAS, In the 1920s, an aggressive street paving program | ||||||
19 | took place under Mayors Ben Raue and Fred Mathis; the Crystal | ||||||
20 | Lake Park District was created in 1921 out of community concern | ||||||
21 | that public access to the lake and beach would be lost to | ||||||
22 | private ownership; today, residents enjoy more than 1,600 acres |
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1 | of parks and open space, as well as the 230-acre Crystal Lake | ||||||
2 | for summertime fishing, boating, swimming, and wintertime ice | ||||||
3 | fishing and skating; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, In 1929, the El Tovar Theatre was built; this | ||||||
5 | theatre was eventually renovated to become today's Raue Center | ||||||
6 | for the Arts; and
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7 | WHEREAS, In 1936, the City celebrated 100 years since the | ||||||
8 | first settlers arrived in Crystal Lake; the celebration | ||||||
9 | included a Centennial queen and court, a large parade, antique | ||||||
10 | displays, and a pageant; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Mining for gravel began in the 1950s, amidst much | ||||||
12 | controversy; an agreement was eventually reached where the land | ||||||
13 | would be deeded to the City once the gravel operations ceased; | ||||||
14 | this land was ultimately developed into today's Three Oaks | ||||||
15 | Recreation Area; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Hundreds of homes and 5 lives were lost on April | ||||||
17 | 11, 1965, when a devastating tornado ripped through a highly | ||||||
18 | populated area of town; the community joined together after the | ||||||
19 | tornado to help neighbors and to rebuild; and
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20 | WHEREAS, Beginning in the 1970s, Crystal Lake experienced | ||||||
21 | significant changes in both its residential and business |
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1 | population, with population growing from approximately 14,000 | ||||||
2 | in the early 1970s to almost 41,000 in 2010; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, The City of Crystal Lake's City Hall was located | ||||||
4 | at the corner of Main and Beardsley Streets until a point in | ||||||
5 | the 1900s, when a new Municipal Complex was built on Woodstock | ||||||
6 | Street; a large addition to the Municipal Complex was completed | ||||||
7 | in 2004; and
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8 | WHEREAS, In 2001, the Downtown City of Crystal Lake was a | ||||||
9 | recipient of the Governor's Hometown Award for the | ||||||
10 | revitalization of the downtown area; in 2012, the City once | ||||||
11 | again received the Governor's Hometown Award, this time for | ||||||
12 | improvements to the Three Oaks Recreational area; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, Today, people continue to relocate to Crystal Lake | ||||||
14 | in search of more open space, less traffic, more affordable | ||||||
15 | land, and safer neighborhoods; therefore, be it | ||||||
16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
17 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
18 | we congratulate the City of Crystal Lake on the occasion of the | ||||||
19 | 100th anniversary of the signing of the City's charter; and be | ||||||
20 | it further
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21 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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1 | presented to the City of Crystal Lake's City Council as an | ||||||
2 | expression of our congratulations.
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