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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to congratulate the Franklin Park Public
4 Library on the completion of its first 125 years of operation;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, In the closing months of the 19th century, a
7 group of residents of Franklin Park, mostly women, decided
8 that their Illinois community deserved to have a library; and
9 WHEREAS, The Franklin Park Ladies Literary and Social
10 Club, later renamed the Franklin Park Women's Club, asked
11 their neighbors to bring books to Wasson's store at 9602
12 Franklin Avenue, and the first book was donated on April 15,
13 1899; and
14 WHEREAS, The small store, which also sold ice cream,
15 cigars, and other goods, was the first home of the Franklin
16 Park Library for more than a decade; from 1916 until 1932, the
17 library was moved to other locations; and
18 WHEREAS, The Great Depression was a threat to the survival
19 of the Franklin Park Library, and in 1932, it suspended its
20 operations for four years until 1936; and
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1 WHEREAS, With help from the New Deal, the Franklin Park
2 Women's Club reopened the Franklin Park Library in 1936;
3 control of the library moved to the Village of Franklin Park in
4 1941, but it continued to move through a series of municipal
5 and private-sector locations; and
6 WHEREAS, During the 1960s and 1970s, the people of
7 Franklin Park demonstrated by referendum their increasing
8 support for the Franklin Park Library, authorizing a property
9 tax for its support in 1962 and approving its promotion to the
10 status of a Special Service District in 1970, which made it
11 possible to construct a new, free-standing library; and
12 WHEREAS, The current Franklin Park Public Library was
13 dedicated on April 1, 1984, and it was then expanded with the
14 addition of a children's library space and two meeting rooms
15 and dedicated on January 29, 1989; and
16 WHEREAS, As of 2024, the Franklin Park Public Library's
17 collection exceeds 111,000 volumes and items of audiovisual
18 material, including items in the library's collection of local
19 history; and
20 WHEREAS, This successful collection dates back to the time
21 of President William McKinley; therefore, be it
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1 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
2 HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3 we congratulate the Franklin Park Public Library on the
4 completion of its first 125 years of operation; and be it
5 further
6 RESOLVED, That we hope that the Franklin Park Public
7 Library continues to be a bulwark of the community, the
8 children of Franklin Park, and the people of Franklin Park for
9 at least another 125 years; and be it further
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