Bill Text: IL HR0320 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulates the administration, teachers, and students of James Harvey Bowen High School in Chicago on the occasion of the school's 100th anniversary.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-05-05 - Resolution Adopted [HR0320 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-HR0320-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives are pleased to congratulate the
administration, teachers, and students of James Harvey Bowen
High School in Chicago on the occasion of the school's 100th
anniversary; and
WHEREAS, The James Harvey Bowen High School now enters its
second century of providing a facility for the young citizens
of South Chicago to obtain a quality education; and
WHEREAS, Named after a young entrepreneur, founder of the
Calumet and Chicago Canal and Dock Company, and chairman of the
Republican State Central Committee at the time of President
Abraham Lincoln's assassination, James Harvey Bowen High
School's current building was built in 1910 to replace the old
structure on 93rd and Houston Avenue that was built as an
elementary school in 1876; the building opened with 14 students
enrolled in a one-room class; the structure was eventually
enlarged to serve children of all elementary grade levels and
four rooms were allocated for high school work; the building
then served as a branch until 1960 and was subsequently razed;
and
WHEREAS, Designed by famed school architect Dwight

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Perkins, a Prairie School contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright,
Bowen High School's current building was built for an
enrollment of 1,400; by the mid-1930s, however, its student
body had burgeoned to 4,600 due to the migration of Polish,
Slavic, and other immigrants into South Chicago; in 1970, a new
gymnasium, 30 new classrooms, four large study halls, and a
two-story library were erected; and
WHEREAS, As the population of South Chicago grew, Bowen
High School came to be considered one of the city's finest high
schools; throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Bowen tradition of
academic excellence continued; by 1965, 73% of the senior class
went on to college; as a cultural and education institution
serving today's youth under the auspices of the Chicago High
School Redesign Initiative, Bowen was divided into four "small
schools" in 2002: the Chicago Discovery Academy, BEST or the
Bowen Environmental Studies Team, the Global Visions Academy,
and the New Millennium School of Health; these four
"schools-within-a-school" are funded by the Chicago Board of
Education and receive additional support from the Bill and
Melanie Gates Foundation; each small school has an enrollment
of about 400 students, is staffed by certified teachers, and
has its own principal; and
WHEREAS, Bowen High School graduates have influenced the
arts, industry, law, and government; the school has been the

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alma mater of many talented, successful, and famous people from
vastly diverse fields of endeavor, such as renowned drummer
Gene Krupa, Hollywood director Andrew Davis, and late radio
personality Ed Schwartz; this historic educational institution
continues to meet the educational needs of future generations
who will call the South Chicago neighborhood their home;
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we congratulate the administration, teachers, and students of
James Harvey Bowen High School in Chicago on the occasion of
the school's 100th anniversary; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
prepared and presented to James Harvey Bowen High School as a
symbol of our respect and esteem.