HR0469 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0469 LRB104 15247 LAW 28397 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Crete Township in Will County on the occasion of its 175th anniversary of township government operations; and

WHEREAS, Township government was established in this State by the Illinois Constitution of 1848; constitutional delegates gave each county the option to choose between a township or a county commission form of government; the first townships were formed in Illinois in 1849, and they began operating a year later; today, 85 of the State's 102 counties operate under a township government system, which includes 1,433 townships, serving more than 8 million people throughout Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The origin of township government in North America dates back to the Pilgrims of 1636, and it still operates under the same basic principles of democratic rule as it did 389 years ago, such as the implementation of town meetings as the cornerstone of citizen input; today, township governments in Illinois still lean heavily on annual meetings to permit each and every citizen an opportunity to give direct input towards the governing process, holding these annual meetings on the second Tuesday of April every year; and

WHEREAS, Modern township governments in Illinois continue to provide the same basic services they did 175 years ago, and these basic services include general assistance, providing food, shelter, and emergency relief to people unable to support themselves or who do not qualify for other forms of assistance, in addition to property assessment through township assessors setting property values for all real property within a given township; township governments also provide road and bridge maintenance through township road crews, whose duties include maintaining roads and bridges as well as keeping roads free of snow and ice in the winter months; in fact, township governments maintain 53% of all roads in Illinois, with township highway commissioners being responsible for some 71,000 miles of Illinois roads; and

WHEREAS, Township governments in Illinois are as diverse governmentally as they are geographically; despite this, they all provide citizens with a basic set of accessible services; Crete Township, for example, provides many services to senior citizens, the youth, and the less fortunate, including assisting the Eastern Will County Senior Citizens group by making a healthy donation each year to offset transportation costs, giving youth groups vital funding through yearly donations, and offering Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets to the less fortunate as well as providing an ongoing pantry for use by the community; and

WHEREAS, Township government is not only a system of governance but also one of the intrinsic values handed down to us by our ancestors, and its continuance in Illinois for the past 175 years further cements the wisdom of our forefathers; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Crete Township in Will County on achieving 175 years of township government operations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Crete Township as an expression of our esteem and respect.