Bill Text: IL HR0229 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Recognizes and honors former Mayor Richard Carver and the Peoria City Council during his time in office, sometimes referred to as the "Carver Council", for their extraordinary foresight in planning and accomplishing major downtown redevelopment in Peoria on the 50th anniversary of when this vision began.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-04-26 - Resolution Adopted [HR0229 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HR0229-Introduced.html

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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

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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

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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.