093_HR0491
LRB093 13506 KEF 18837 r
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to congratulate Willie Wilson of Chicago
4 on being honored for his unselfish contributions to his
5 community as a member of the National Black McDonald's Owner
6 Operators Association (NBMCA); and
7 WHEREAS, Mr. Wilson has been a successful McDonald's
8 owner/operator for the past 23 years; and
9 WHEREAS, Mr. Wilson, the son of a sharecropper, was born
10 in Gilbert, Louisiana; he had one initial dream, to make life
11 easier for his hard working parents who worked from sun up to
12 sun down in the fields; and
13 WHEREAS, Armed with this dream, young Mr. Wilson left
14 home only to find himself in a Florida work camp he likened
15 to slavery; he had never finished the eighth grade and was
16 forced to work for very little; throughout this time of
17 financial difficulty, Mr. Wilson was rich in his dreams of
18 becoming an entrepreneur; and
19 WHEREAS, Mr. Wilson eventually relocated to Chicago and
20 began mopping floors at a McDonald's Restaurant for $2 an
21 hour; he never thought he would one day own four of these
22 restaurants; one day he asked Ray Kroc, the founder of the
23 McDonald's chain, to give him his own store, and the rest is
24 history; and
25 WHEREAS, Mr. Wilson sold three of his restaurants and
26 today has the "Singsation" gospel show aired on WGN-TV each
27 Sunday; he is chairman of Gemini Electronics LLC, a
28 minority-owned, full-service telecommunications company and
29 is the founder/CEO of Omar Medical Supplies Inc., which
30 supplied 100,000 medical and healthcare supplies and is named
31 after his late son; he also produces gospel records and is an
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1 ordained minister; and
2 WHEREAS, A multimillionaire today, Mr. Wilson enjoys
3 giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to civic
4 causes including churches, especially those having youth and
5 elderly programs; he sold his last McDonald's Restaurant,
6 located in Chicago, and today is a McDonald's supplier; and
7 WHEREAS, The National Black McDonald's Owner Operators
8 Association (NBMCA) is honoring Mr. Wilson at a reception on
9 October 8, 2003 at the Westin Hotel in Chicago; therefore, be
10 it
11 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
12 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
13 we honor Willie Wilson for his many achievements and
14 contributions and wish him health and happiness in all of his
15 future endeavors; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17 presented to Willie Wilson as an expression of our respect
18 and esteem.