HR0229 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0229 LRB103 32040 LAW 60949 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to recognize former Peoria Mayor Richard Carver and the Peoria City Council members who served during his time in office, sometimes referred to as the "Carver Council", for their efforts to transform the City of Peoria; and

WHEREAS, In May 1973, Richard Carver was sworn in as Mayor of the City of Peoria, and he served in that position until 1984; and

WHEREAS, The Peoria City Council members originally serving with Mayor Carver were Joseph Mudd, R. James Bateman, Thomas Dunne, Bruce Brown, C. Richard Neumiller, Lester Bergsten, Franklin Renner, and Warren Reynolds; and

WHEREAS, These Peoria City Council members became the initial members of the Carver Council, and their transformation of the City of Peoria was visionary; and

WHEREAS, Over the course of Mayor Carver's 11-year tenure, members of the Peoria City Council changed, including Richard Sutton and Dorothy Sinclair replacing Thomas Dunne and Joseph Mudd in 1975, Kenneth Sheppard replacing Richard Sutton in 1977, Daniel Gura and Leonard Unes replacing Warren Reynolds and Franklin Renner in 1979, and Clement Dries replacing Bruce Brown in 1981, with council members remaining the same in 1983; and

WHEREAS, From the 1973 swearing-in, Mayor Carver and the Peoria City Council embarked upon a Downtown Redevelopment Plan to revitalize downtown Peoria; and

WHEREAS, Part of the Downtown Redevelopment Plan was locating the University of Illinois School of Medicine in downtown Peoria to be within close proximity to both hospitals, with the school's groundbreaking taking place in September 1974; and

WHEREAS, The Peoria City Council additionally voted on building the Peoria Civic Center in August 1976, which was followed by the vote to establish a hotel, motel, and restaurant tax as a matching source of funding in September 1976; the center opened with a theater, sports arena, and an exhibition hall in 1982; and

WHEREAS, The University of Illinois School of Medicine in downtown Peoria and the Peoria Civic Center were just two of the projects that Mayor Carver and the Peoria City Council accomplished, and these monumental projects continue to impact the downtown area to this day; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize former Mayor Richard Carver and the Peoria City Council who served during his time in office for their extraordinary foresight in planning and accomplishing major downtown redevelopment in Peoria on the 50th anniversary of when this vision began; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the four remaining leaders, Richard Carver, R. James Bateman, Bruce Brown, and Lester Bergsten, as an expression of our esteem and respect.