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92_HJ0007
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1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the House were saddened to learn
3 of the death of Mayor Ken Hayes of Bradley; and
4 WHEREAS, He was elected mayor in 1981 and was re-elected
5 in 1985, 1989, 1993, and 1997; and
6 WHEREAS, He was born in Limestone Township on August 30,
7 1924, the son of Patrick and Catherine Hayes; the family
8 moved to Bradley when he was three months old, and until his
9 death he lived in the house that his father bought; and
10 WHEREAS, He attended St. Joseph's Grammar School and
11 Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School; he served in the
12 United States Army's 83rd Division, 331st Infantry, Company L
13 during World War II; he won the Silver Star, the Bronze Star
14 with clusters for meritorious service, a Good Conduct medal,
15 the European Theatre of Operations medal for five campaigns,
16 and the Croix de Guerre for service to France; and
17 WHEREAS, When he returned from war, Ken Hayes became a
18 precinct captain and then a committeeman; he was elected
19 vice-chairman of the Democratic Central Committee in Kankakee
20 County in 1966 and served in that role until 1972, when he
21 was elected central committee chairman; and
22 WHEREAS, When he arrived home from the Army, he worked in
23 the pipefitter's union local until he had a heart attack in
24 1963, which led him to quit his trade; he went to work
25 inspecting seed for the Illinois Department of Agriculture
26 and later worked for then Secretary of State Alan Dixon; and
27 WHEREAS, He went to work for the Illinois Secretary of
28 State and retired with a disability pension after a heart
29 bypass operation in 1978; and
30 WHEREAS, He was the founder of the Area Jobs Development
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1 Association, active in scouting, golfing, the Bradley Lions,
2 and a life member of the Bradley VFW; and
3 WHEREAS, Under Mayor Hayes' strong leadership, the
4 Village of Bradley experienced unprecedented commercial and
5 retail growth amounting to large increases in sales tax
6 revenue to Bradley; and
7 WHEREAS, He was a member of the Loyal Order of the Moose
8 Lodge of Bradley, one of the vice presidents of the Illinois
9 Municipal League, and a member of the Mayors Association; and
10 WHEREAS, Much of the commercial growth and development
11 that Kenneth P. Hayes worked for occurred along Illinois
12 Route 50; therefore, be it
13 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
15 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that Illinois Route 50 in Bradley,
16 Illinois, from North Street to Larry Power Road, is
17 designated as the Kenneth P. Hayes Memorial Highway; and be
18 it further
19 RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation
20 is directed to erect, at suitable locations consistent with
21 State regulations, appropriate plaques or signage giving
22 notice of the renaming of Illinois Route 50 in Bradley,
23 Illinois, from North Street to Larry Power Road, as the
24 Kenneth P. Hayes Memorial Highway; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
26 presented to Mrs. Rose Hayes, to the Village of Bradley, and
27 to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
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