Full Text of SR2513 99th General Assembly
SR2513 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Joe W. Freelon Sr., the first African | 4 | | American Mayor of Maywood, who passed away on November 18, | 5 | | 2016; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Freelon was born in Grenada, Mississippi on | 7 | | September 15, 1929; he attended Grenada elementary and high | 8 | | schools before entering the United States Army; in 1956, he | 9 | | graduated from Tuskegee University with a bachelor's degree, | 10 | | where he was in the ROTC program; after graduation, he | 11 | | re-entered the military and was stationed in Fort Bliss in | 12 | | Texas; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Freelon moved to Chicago and became a social | 14 | | studies and math teacher in the Chicago public schools; in | 15 | | 1964, he and his wife, Gladys, moved to Maywood and joined the | 16 | | Second Baptist Church, where he served as Chairman of the | 17 | | Deacon Board for over 40 years, and was a longtime member of | 18 | | the Maple Tree Child Care Center; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Freelon was elected Mayor of Maywood on | 20 | | November 3, 1982; his election began a string of African | 21 | | Americans being elected Mayor across the nation, with Chicago | 22 | | electing Harold Washington, Philadelphia electing Wilson |
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| 1 | | Goode, and New York City electing David Dinkins; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Freelon served four terms in office; he lost | 3 | | his bid for a fifth term in 1989, but ran again in 1993 and won, | 4 | | serving for eight more years; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, In 2014, Mayor Freelon was appointed to the Fire | 6 | | and Police Pension Board by Maywood Mayor Edweena Perkins; in | 7 | | October of 2014, he was honored by the Maywood Police | 8 | | Department for "initiating a turnaround" for the Village; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Freelon and his wife, Gladys, were married | 10 | | for 61 years; together they had two children, Joe Jr. and | 11 | | Gawana; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren; | 12 | | therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 15 | | Joe W. Freelon Sr., and extend our sincere condolences to his | 16 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 17 | | further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | presented to the family of Mayor Freelon as an expression of | 20 | | our deepest sympathy.
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