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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to honor the life and
4accomplishments of James M. Bailey; and
 
5    WHEREAS, James Bailey was born on May 5, 1915, in Trenton,
6Tennessee; he has lived in Alton for over 70 years; he still
7resides in Alton on Salu Street, in the house he built in 1954;
8and
 
9    WHEREAS, James Bailey and his wife, Mary Louise (Simmons)
10Bailey, raised two wonderful sons, Dr. Jimmie M. Bailey and
11Judge Duane Bailey; and
 
12    WHEREAS, James Bailey earned his bachelor's degree from
13Lincoln University in Missouri in 1939; while attending Lincoln
14University, he was the first person to pledge with the Eta
15Sigma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity; he was inducted into
16the Lincoln University Alumni Hall of Fame on July 21, 2007;
17and
 
18    WHEREAS, James Bailey earned his master's degree from the
19University of Illinois in Champaign in 1948; and
 
20    WHEREAS, James Bailey served as an educator with the Alton

 

 

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1Community Unit School District for 48 years; during his career,
2he served as a junior high school teacher and basketball coach,
3principal of Lovejoy Elementary School and Central High School,
4and supervising principal of all elementary principals; he also
5holds the distinction of being the first African-American
6assistant principal at Alton High School, the first
7African-American administrative assistant to the
8superintendent, and the first African-American assistant
9superintendent of schools; and
 
10    WHEREAS, James Bailey was a member of the steering
11committees that founded Lewis and Clark Community College in
12Godfrey and Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville; he
13was one of the three founders of the City of Alton's Elijah P.
14Lovejoy Memorial Scholarship; he was the first
15African-American to be elected to the Alton City Council, where
16he served for 10 years; he was the first African-American to be
17elected to the position of comptroller in Alton; he served as a
18community volunteer for voter registration efforts in the City
19of Alton; he is a member of the NAACP; he is also a founding
20member of the Alton Urban League; and
 
21    WHEREAS, James Bailey will be honored for his many
22accomplishments during a ceremony held by the Celebrate An
23Elder Ministry of the Greater St. James Baptist Church in Alton
24on September 25, 2011; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3we honor the life and accomplishments of James M. Bailey and
4wish him continued success and happiness in the future; and be
5it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
7presented to James Bailey as a symbol of our esteem and
8respect.