[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6] [Senate] [Page 8343] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov][[Page 8343]] COMMENDING OAK PARK, ILLINOIS, ON 150 YEARS OF TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, 150 years ago in 1849, Oak Park, Illinois was just 10 years old, with a total population of less than 500 people. There were no streets lined with Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. There was no elevated train system for rapid transit to the City of Chicago. There was no light bulb, no telephone or automobile. No one had heard of the computer, Internet, or e-mail. {time} 1945 In 1849, township as a local form of government was established in Illinois, and since then, voters in 85 of Illinois' 102 counties have benefited from this most intimate form of government. Today, Oak Park is a thriving community of more than 53,000 people, known for its architectural heritage. Within its 4.5 square miles lives a diverse mix of people with different cultures, races and ethnicities, professions, lifestyles, religions, ages and incomes. Primarily a residential community bordering the city of Chicago, Oak Park is the birthplace and childhood home of novelist Ernest Hemingway. An annual festival has traditionally been held to celebrate his July birth date. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright lived in Oak Park from 1889 to 1909, and 25 buildings in the village were designed by him, including his first public building, Unity Temple, a Unitarian Universalist church. His restored home and studio is open for daily hours, and there are many architecturally significant homes ranging from Victorian to prairie style in the village's two historic districts. Other famous Oak Parkers include Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan; Dr. Percy B. Julian, an outstanding African American chemist whose research led to the development of cortisone; Joseph Kerwin, an astronaut on the first NASA Skylab team; Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's; and Marjorie Judith Vincent, the 1991 Miss America. Oak Park is also home to former president of the Illinois Senate and recently appointed chairman of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the honorable Phillip Rock. The Oak Park River Forest High School is recognized as one of the best public high schools in the Nation, Fenwick is an outstanding Catholic school, and the city is currently involved in the redevelopment of downtown Oak Park with new retail anchors and an intermodal transportation facility. In 1968, the village board approved one of the Nation's first local fair housing ordinances outlawing discrimination. In 1973, the board approved its first Oak Park diversity statement; and, in 1976, Oak Park was designated an all-American city. One thing that has not changed in Oak Park during the past 150 years is the person-to-person service provided by township officials and township government in Illinois. When Illinois voters chose township government, they chose the oldest form of government on the North American continent. The Pilgrims brought the concept of township government with them when they landed on the eastern seaboard in 1636. More than a century before the Revolutionary War, townships were giving communities a local and independent voice in matters of government and order. Today, as we prepare to move into the 21st century, government in Illinois still thrives. More than 8 million Illinoisans are served by the 1,433 townships in the State. This year, on April 3rd, townships held their annual meetings, which is unique to this form of government, where any citizen can step up to the plate and voice any concern that they have about the government. In this regard, townships are truly the government closest to the people they govern as they continue to provide functions and services which are vitally important. I take this moment after 150 years to commend and congratulate the people of Oak Park, Illinois, for demonstrating that democracy can be made real and that township government can in fact and does in fact work. ____________________