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91_HR0171
LRB9106322CBcb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, It has come to the attention of the House of
3 Representatives that the Illinois School for the Visually
4 Impaired in Jacksonville is celebrating its sesquicentennial
5 this year; and
6 WHEREAS, Samuel Bacon came to Jacksonville in 1847
7 seeking employment at the institution for the blind; and
8 WHEREAS, He found no such school in Jacksonville, but
9 finding the Asylum for the Insane, founded earlier in 1847,
10 the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb founded in 1845, Illinois
11 College founded in 1829, and the Jacksonville Female Academy
12 founded in 1835, which the people of Jacksonville took great
13 pride in these institutions and listened with interest as
14 Bacon told them of other schools for the blind; and
15 WHEREAS, Community leaders encouraged Bacon to establish
16 a private school for the blind to demonstrate the feasibility
17 of teaching the blind; and
18 WHEREAS, In January of 1849, Bacon took four of the
19 students from the private school to Springfield where they
20 gave an exhibition of the skills that had been imparted to
21 them by their teacher; and
22 WHEREAS, Bills were introduced in the House of
23 Representatives by Richard Yates and in the Senate by Newton
24 Cloud; and
25 WHEREAS, The result was "An Act to Establish the Illinois
26 Institution for the Education of the Blind" was signed into
27 law by Governor Augustus C. French on January 13, 1849; and
28 WHEREAS, The institution was officially opened on April
29 7, 1849; and
30 WHEREAS, The school is now called the Illinois School for
-2- LRB9106322CBcb
1 the Visually Impaired; and
2 WHEREAS, The school has had one hundred and fifty years
3 of service to the citizens of Illinois; and
4 WHEREAS, The school is now run under the auspices of the
5 Illinois Department of Human Services, Office of
6 Rehabilitation Services; and
7 WHEREAS, The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired is
8 still a leading force for the education of the blind and
9 visually impaired in the nation; therefore, be it
10 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
12 we congratulate the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired
13 on the occasion of its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary
14 and extend our sincere wish for continued success in the
15 future; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
17 presented to the school during public ceremonies marking the
18 anniversary on April 12, 1999.