RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF NOVEMBER 1, 2018
Title
RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners recognizing the 125th anniversary of the Village of Brookfield
Body
WHEREAS, in 1889, Samuel Eberly Gross, a Chicago lawyer and real estate investor, began selling lots of land he had purchased alongside the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Line, which ran from Chicago to Aurora. Gross planned to attract working-class families with affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, Gross built a train station and a pavilion, which contained the first post office, general store, Gross' real estate office, meeting rooms, and eventually a dance hall. Gross called the settlement Grossdale; and
WHEREAS, in 1893, residents voted to incorporate the Village of Grossdale; and
WHEREAS, in 1905, after a contest to rename the village, Grossdale became the Village of Brookfield; and
WHEREAS, the Plank Toll Road, now called Ogden Avenue, was paved in 1920 to provide easy access to Chicago; and
WHEREAS, on July 1, 1934, the Chicago Zoological Park opened in Brookfield, giving non-residents more reason to visit the Village; and
WHEREAS, the Village fell on hard times by 1947, but bankruptcy was prohibited by state law. Residents and Village leaders worked together to reorganize, creating the position of Village Manager to oversee Village affairs. This proved so successful that the state began recommending it to other struggling villages; and
WHEREAS, over its long history, the Village of Brookfield has been named an All American City, a Bicentennial Community, and a Tree City, USA; and
WHEREAS, for 125 years, generations of suburbanites have called the Village of Brookfield home; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and staff, do hereby recognize the 125th anniversary of the Village of Brookfield; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent record of proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Dated: November 1, 2018
Approved: MARIYANA T. SPYROPOULOS, President; BARBARA J. MCGOWAN, Vice President; FRANK AVILA, Chairman, Committee on Finance; KEN DUNKIN; MARTIN J. DURKAN; JOSINA MORITA; DEBRA SHORE; KARI K. STEELE; DAVID J. WALSH; Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Approved as to Form and Legality: Susan T. Morakalis, General Counsel