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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate the members of
4Western Illinois Electrical Coop. on the 75th anniversary of
5their cooperative; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Western Illinois Electrical Coop. was officially
7formed on August 1, 1938 in Carthage, Illinois, through the
8hard work and dedication of a handful of local residents
9wanting to improve living and farming conditions for themselves
10and their neighbors; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Because of the lack of density, it simply wasn't
12possible for the for-profit utilities to make a profit serving
13rural areas with only a few farms or homes per mile of electric
14line; with the help of loans from the Rural Electrification
15Administration (REA), the people living in these rural areas
16banded together to form member-owned and member-governed
17electric cooperatives; and
 
18    WHEREAS, This group of local residents went door to door
19signing up their neighbors to become members of Western
20Illinois Electrical Coop. and convincing them that a
21cooperative would bring lights and power to the rural area; and
 

 

 

HR0423- 2 -LRB098 12198 GRL 46409 r

1    WHEREAS, Their hard work paid off and Western Illinois
2Electrical Coop.'s lines were first energized on January 10,
31940, initially serving 716 member-owners in Hancock County;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, Western Illinois Electrical Coop. continues to
6provides reliable electric service to member-owners in Adams,
7Hancock, Henderson, and McDonough counties; and
 
8    WHEREAS, For 75 years, the cooperative has served its
9member-owners based on 7 guiding principles: voluntary and open
10membership, member-elected and controlled boards of directors,
11members' economic participation, autonomy and independence,
12education and training, cooperation among cooperatives, and
13concern for community; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
16we congratulate the members of the Western Illinois Electrical
17Coop. on the 75th anniversary of their cooperative; and be it
18further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to Western Illinois Electrical Coop. as a symbol of
21our esteem and respect.