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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, It is highly fitting that the Illinois General
3Assembly pays honor and respect to individuals who have given
4their lives in the line of duty; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Enoch Hopkins was born on March 22, 1824 in
6Jefferson, Maine; he began his long career as a law enforcer
7shortly after coming to Morris in the summer of 1854; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Marshal Hopkins' honorable service was tragically
9cut short when he was killed in the line of duty on September
1014, 1878; and
 
11    WHEREAS, On the night of September 14, notorious roughs
12Frank Foster and Charles Miller came to town; the pair shortly
13became intoxicated; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Marshal Hopkins advised the men several times
15over the course of the evening to go home as they became
16disorderly; Foster and Miller ignored the multitude of
17warnings they received and persisted with their drinking until
18late into the evening; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Around midnight, Marshal Hopkins found it
20necessary to arrest the two drunk men and caught them in a

 

 

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1downtown alleyway; as Marshal Hopkins was leading them out of
2the alley, the men fled on foot; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Marshal Hopkins pursued the men when Charles
4Miller suddenly drew his revolver and fired twice at the
5officer; Marshal Hopkins was hit by one of the shots and died
6almost instantly; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The funeral for Marshal Hopkins was the largest
8seen in Morris at the time; he was an honored member of the
9Masonic Order, a great, noble man, and a respected citizen of
10the community; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
12HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
13SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the portion of
14Illinois Route 47 over Interstate 80 from Romines Drive to
15Illinois Route 6 East as the "Marshal Enoch T. Hopkins
16Memorial Road"; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation
18is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with
19State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs
20giving notice of the name of the "Marshal Enoch T. Hopkins
21Memorial Road"; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
2presented to the family of Marshal Hopkins, the Secretary of
3the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Morris Police
4Department, and the Mayor of the City of Morris.