HR0293 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0293 LRB098 11789 MST 44877 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Jacoby Dickens of Fisher Island, Florida, formerly of Chicago and Olympia Fields; and

WHEREAS, After moving to Chicago in 1946, Jacoby Dickens attended Wendell Phillips High School on the South Side; and

WHEREAS, Jacoby Dickens was a longtime resident of Chicago; he began his career at the Chicago Board of Education and demonstrated an entrepreneurial flair that earned him the distinction as one of the nation's most admired business leaders; and

WHEREAS, Jacoby Dickens was elected to the Board of the Seaway Bank and Trust Company in 1979; he served as Vice Chairman of the board before becoming Chairman in 1983; and

WHEREAS, Jacoby Dickens was well known as a champion for the African-American and civic communities; his deep involvement with the community shaped his work at Seaway, where he helped implement the opening of bank branches in otherwise underserved areas of the city, including his own South Side of Chicago; he focused on growing new businesses through loans, outreach, and community development programs; he also supported local churches and mentoring programs, sponsoring African-American teenagers through high school and college; and

WHEREAS, Jacoby Dickens served as chairman of the Committee to Elect Harold Washington and as a Commissioner of Economic Development for the City of Chicago; he was a member of the boards of the Chicago Urban League, Chicago State University Foundation, and the School of Business at Florida A & M University; he also served as a trustee at the Museum of Science and Industry at DePaul University, where a scholarship-and-loan program was named in his honor, and at Chicago State University, to which he donated more than $1 million; in 1995, the Physical Education and Athletics Building at CSU was named for him; and

WHEREAS, Jacoby Dickens was listed among Chicago Magazine's "20 Most Influential People in Chicago" and had been inducted into the Chicago Business Hall of Fame; and

WHEREAS, Jacoby Dickens is survived by his loving wife of 15 years, Veranda Dickens; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Jacoby Dickens; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Jacoby Dickens as an expression of our sympathy.