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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Mount Prospect was founded by a group of stalwart
3German immigrants, and today continues to be populated by a
4diverse population of residents from all over the world, living
5and working together; and
 
6    WHEREAS, In 1874, a land speculator, named Ezra Eggleston,
7saw the area's potential; he built a train station and plotted
8a town on paper, naming it Mount Prospect; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In the 1880s, hard-working Germans like John C.
10Moehling, John Meyn, and William Wille picked up where
11Eggleston left off, creating a small commerce center beside the
12tracks, close to Eggleston's train station; and
 
13    WHEREAS, In 1894, William Busse, a man with lots of
14political influence in Cook County, settled in town and made
15Mount Prospect's development a personal priority project; and
 
16    WHEREAS, In 1910, industry came to Mount Prospect; the
17Utility Battery Company and Mount Prospect Creamery were
18established; a year later, in 1911, the Mount Prospect
19Improvement Association was founded to make civic improvements
20such as kerosene street lamps, sidewalks, and oiled streets;
21Northwest Power and Light Company was also built that same

 

 

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1year; and
 
2    WHEREAS, In 1917, 100 years ago, Mount Prospect reached a
3population of 300 and incorporated as a village, allowing it to
4enact its own laws and levy taxes to pay for roads, schools,
5and other public improvements; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Mount Prospect was ahead of its time when it
7welcomed a female physician, Dr. Louise Koester, in 1926, well
8before women physicians were common; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In 1930, Mount Prospect was the only city or
10village in Cook County that was not out of money and remained
11open during the Great Depression; the tradition of very
12conservative money choices kept both the Village and the Mount
13Prospect State Bank from going bankrupt; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Mount Prospect boomed during the post-World War II
15years, increasing its population from 1,720 in 1940 to 18,906
16in 1960; it continued to grow by leaps and bounds, reaching
1752,634 in 1980; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Mount Prospect contributed to the world when
19George Stephen invented the Weber Kettle grill at his Mount
20Prospect home on Can-Dota Avenue in 1952; from those humble
21beginnings, he launched a firm that sells millions of dollars

 

 

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1of charcoal and gas grills annually; and
 
2    WHEREAS, In 1960, Randhurst Mall, the country's first
3indoor, air conditioned mall, opened; in 2008, the mall was
4rebuilt as an outdoor lifestyle center, which is currently a
5thriving commercial area filled with well-known chain stores
6and restaurants, specialty shops, a movie theater, and more;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, Mount Prospect has been preparing for its
9centennial for over three years and, in the process, has
10identified 33 homes and five commercial/religious/public
11structures that date to the year of incorporation of 1917 or
12earlier; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Mount Prospect has planned 18 months of
14celebrations, including fireworks, a reenactment of
15incorporation festivities, a festive dinner dance, a
16community-wide fire hydrant painting project, and much more;
17therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
19HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
20recognize the 100th anniversary of the founding of Mount
21Prospect and we wish it many more successful years; and be it
22further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to Mount Prospect Mayor Arlene A. Juracek.