HR0710 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0710 LRB095 13611 GRL 39310 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate the staff of the Elmhurst Art Museum on the occasion of the museum's 10th anniversary in its award-winning building; and

WHEREAS, The Elmhurst Art Museum was created in 1980 by the Elmhurst Fine Arts and Civic Center Foundation; by 1983, the museum was granted the use of two rooms in the Elmhurst Community Center and for the next sixteen years exhibited exclusively Illinois artists; in 1990, the museum became aware of an opportunity to purchase the McCormick House, one of only three homes in the U.S. designed and built by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe; the house was purchased in 1991; and

WHEREAS, The current site of the Elmhurst Art Museum opened in September 1997; since its opening, the building has won the Chicago AIA Regional Architecture Award, and was nominated for a National Distinguished Building Award for Architectural Excellence and named the "Best Suburban Art Museum in Chicago" by Chicago Magazine; the nationally recognized building is a center of important community advocacy through its programs and exhibitions, and by its close working relationships with residents of DuPage County, the State of Illinois, and the Midwest region; the building has also become an important site for art exhibitions, providing wide exposure for many artists in the State; and

WHEREAS, The Elmhurst Art Museum's mission is to provide the people of Elmhurst and its surrounding communities with a center for the visual arts and a welcoming atmosphere where art can be viewed, studied, created, and appreciated in an architecturally significant facility; the museum also places a great importance on the enrichment of the lives of its visitors by broadening their knowledge, increasing sensitivity to the fine arts, and by sparking the development of their own creative talents; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the staff of the Elmhurst Art Museum on the occasion of the museum's 10th anniversary in its award-winning building and wish them continued success in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to a representative of the Elmhurst Art Museum as a symbol of our respect and esteem.