14-114 Resolution No. 14-114
RESOLUTION
NAMING CITY HALL AND THE CIVIC PLAZA
THE ROBERT GILLIAM MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
(150 Dexter Court)
WHEREAS, Robert Gilliam, at the age of 28 years old, was elected to the office of city
councilman of the City of Elgin in the municipal election on April 17, 1973, and was sworn into
the office of councilman on May 2, 1973; and
WHEREAS, Councilman Robert Gilliam was thereafter re-elected to the office of
councilman of the City of Elgin in 1977, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005, and 2009,
and served as a councilman for the City of Elgin for forty years until May 3, 2013; and
WHEREAS, Councilman Robert Gilliam's determined leadership helped lead the City of
Elgin through the difficult decades of the 1970s and 1980s to a period of unprecedented growth
and revitalization which included numerous city projects supported by Councilman Gilliam
including the Leo Nelson Riverside Water Treatment Plant, the building of the new police
station, the building of seven new fire stations, the acquisition of the new public works building,
the city's dramatic westward expansion, improvements to the city's riverfront, revitalization of
the downtown, the building of the Elgin Recreation Center, Festival Park, the development of the
Highlands and Bowes Creek Golf Courses, the creation of numerous programs to improve and
revitalize the city's neighborhoods and for economic development in the city; and
WHEREAS, Councilman Robert Gilliam is a former School District U-46 employee who
retired in 2002 from School District U-46 after 34 years of service in the city's schools in a
variety of capacities, including as a teacher, dean of students, personnel assistant, and assistant
superintendent; and
WHEREAS, Councilman Robert Gilliam was also a commissioner of the Elgin Housing
Authority for 25 years from 1988 through 2013 and was a leader in improving the operations and
management of the Elgin Housing Authority; and
WHEREAS, Councilman Robert Gilliam's forty years of service as councilman for the
City of Elgin is the longest tenure for a councilman in the history of the City of Elgin and is
believed to be the longest tenure for an elected official in Illinois outside of the City of Chicago;
and
WHEREAS, Councilman Robert Gilliam is a life-long resident of Elgin who has
dedicated himself to a life of public service for his beloved city; and
WHEREAS, the City of Elgin wishes to express its sincere and warm appreciation and
esteem to Councilman Robert Gilliam who has been a faithful and diligent public servant and
steward for the City of Elgin for more than forty years; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Elgin has determined that an appropriate
recognition and honor for Councilman Robert Gilliam is to name City Hall and the associated
Civic Plaza after Mr. Gilliam to honor his legacy of service and leadership and to inform and
remind future generations of who Robert Gilliam is.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS, the City of Elgin hereby extends its sincere and warm appreciation and
esteem to Councilman Robert Gilliam for Mr. Gilliam's outstanding service to the City of Elgin
as councilman for the City of Elgin.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN,
ILLINOIS, that in recognition and in honor of Councilman Robert Gilliam's outstanding service
to the City of Elgin that the City of Elgin hereby designates and names City Hall at 150 Dexter
Court, Elgin, Illinois, and the surrounding Civic Plaza the "Robert Gilliam Municipal Complex".
s/David J. Kaptain
David J. Kaptain, Mayor
Presented: August 13, 2014
Adopted: August 13, 2014
Vote: Yeas: 8 Nays: 0
Attest:
s/Kimberly Dewis
Kimberly Dewis, City Clerk
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