HR0430LRB102 19706 ECR 28479 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the Village of Hodgkins
4on its 125-year anniversary and to congratulate Village
5President Noel Cummings for being the longest serving village
6president/mayor in the State of Illinois; and
 
7    WHEREAS, After several name changes, the Village of
8Hodgkins was incorporated in 1896 and named after the
9president of the Kimball and Cobb Stone Company, Jefferson
10Hodgkins; Modesto Lenzi became the village's first president
11that same year; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The first business to locate in Hodgkins was the
13Kimball and Cobb Stone Company on a piece of property sold by
14William and Jane Muxworthy in 1883; the business was sold to
15Vulcan Materials in 1897; and
 
16    WHEREAS, In the mid 1960s, the Santa Fe Railroad made
17available 275 acres of open land for future development in
18Hodgkins; among the many businesses located in the Santa Fe
19Improvement Park are the Continental Baking Company, Certified
20Grocers of Illinois, Sealed Air Corporation, and Liberty
21Publishing; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, In 1988, negotiations began with the United
2Parcel Service (UPS) that resulted in the annexation of
3approximately 250 acres into Hodgkins directly to its west;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, In 1989, UPS purchased the real estate that was
6formerly the abandoned Fisher Body division of General Motors;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, By the time the UPS Consolidation Hub became
9operational, $279,110,000 had been invested into Hodgkins, and
10approximately 2,100 jobs were brought to the area during its
11first year of operation; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway
13Company constructed a new intermodal facility to serve the UPS
14Consolidation Hub; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In 1985, Hodgkins joined with the Village of
16McCook to create the McCook-Hodgkins Enterprise Zone, and the
17village created a Tax Increment Finance District in 1986; both
18of these tools offered better incentives to new businesses
19desiring to locate in the area; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Businesses located inside the Enterprise Zone
21include the UPS Consolidation Hub, Cummins Northern Illinois,

 

 

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1J. Sterling, and Petro-Vend; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Restaurants in the Enterprise Zone include Lone
3Star Steak House, Applebee's, SubWay, and Casciani's Pizza; in
42001, a CITGO Mini-Mart Gas Station opened at the corner of
5East Avenue and Joliet Road; and
 
6    WHEREAS, In 1992, Celozzi-Ettleson Cadillac began selling
7upscale automobiles to the general public; in the fall of
81995, Hodgkins welcomed Continental Chevrolet, which greatly
9increased sales tax revenues, created more jobs, and increased
10the equalized assessed valuation of the Redevelopment Project
11Area in the village; and
 
12    WHEREAS, In the spring of 1996, the Republic Bank opened
13its new building in Hodgkins; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The Quarry Shopping Center was constructed on the
15site formerly occupied by several motor freight companies; the
16Village of Hodgkins assisted in the construction of the Quarry
17Shopping Center by selling bonds; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The construction of the Quarry Shopping Center
19resulted in 600 new jobs, and the assessed valuation of the
20property increased from $10,813,145 to almost $40 million
21dollars; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Major anchor stores at the Quarry Shopping Center
2include Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Kohl's, Office Max, Fashion Bug,
3Target, Pep Boys, Lane Bryant, Ulta 3, and many more, as well
4as The Quarry Cinema, a 14 screen movie theater; and
 
5    WHEREAS, President Noel Cummings has served as the village
6president of Hodgkins since 1979; he is the longest serving
7mayor/village president in Illinois; and
 
8    WHEREAS, President Noel Cummings and his wife Nelda have
9resided in Hodgkins for the past thirty-five years; he
10attended public grade school and high school in Burnsville,
11Mississippi and matriculated at North Eastern Mississippi
12Junior College; he served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947;
13and
 
14    WHEREAS, President Noel Cummings and his wife have two
15children; their son Daniel, a retired Lieutenant Colonel who
16served in the U.S. Army, and his wife Jean reside in San
17Antonio, Texas with their two sons, Brandon and Richard; the
18Cummings' daughter Sherry and her husband Daniel Klotz reside
19in Hodgkins and have one son, Joseph, who is attending Murray
20State College in Kentucky; and
 
21    WHEREAS, President Noel Cummings was employed as a

 

 

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1supervisor at the International Harvester Company for 28
2years; and
 
3    WHEREAS, President Noel Cummings served as a village
4trustee from 1975 to 1979 before serving as village president;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, President Noel Cummings applied for and received
7grants to construct an on-off ramp at 1-294 and 75th Street,
8which was done to alleviate truck traffic through Hodgkins; he
9also connected Santa Fe Drive with 75th Street to allow easy
10access to 1- 294 for village residents; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Under President Noel Cummings' leadership,
12renovation of the historic Old Fire Station has been completed
13and upgrades to the Public Works Department continue;
14therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
16HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
17we congratulate the Village of Hodgkins on its 125 year
18anniversary and Village President Noel Cummings for being the
19longest serving village president/mayor in the State of
20Illinois; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be

 

 

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1presented to the Hodgkins Village Board of Trustees and
2President Noel Cummings as a symbol of our esteem and respect.