SR0493 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0493 LRB101 12752 MST 61585 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Eddie L. Jones II, who passed away on May 27, 2019; and

WHEREAS, Eddie Jones was born in Cotton Plant, Arkansas to Rosie Lee and Eddie Lee Jones Sr. on March 27, 1952; he attended elementary school in Cotton Plant for two years before he migrated to Chicago with his family in 1959, where they joined Roberts Temple C.O.G.I.C.; he attended Mayo Elementary School and graduated from Wendell Phillips High School in 1970; he graduated from Western Illinois University in 1974; and

WHEREAS, Eddie Jones had a successful career at IBM; he then began a second career at All Points Security, Inc. and had a client list that included planning for President Bill Clinton's motorcades and crowd control; his work afforded him the opportunity to travel internationally as part of the U.S. Presidential Delegation with the Clinton Administration; he was part of the John Kerry For President National Advance Staff, the State Senator Barack Obama Chicago Advance Staff, and the Senator H.R. Clinton National Advance Staff; in 1990, he joined the Alpha Phi Alpha Security Team, where he provided security services for the fraternity's leadership and mentored others on security practices, protocals, and awareness; and

WHEREAS, Eddie Jones was dedicated to making the world a better place in whatever way he could; he was involved with the Global Alliance Preparatory Charter School, the Chicago Area Project, Chicago Cares, the IBM E-Mentor Program, the Genesis Foundation, the Tavis Smiley Local Advisory Council, the Fannie Mae Corp Advisory Council, the Chicago Black Network Group of IBM, the Coach Biddy Basketball South Central Community Center, the IBM Oak Brook Community Action Council, the IBM Corporate Contribution Committee, Lawrence Hall Youth Services, the Chicago Urban League, the Boy Scouts of America Speaker Program, the Elliott Donnelley Youth Center, and Junior Achievement; and

WHEREAS, Eddie Jones was a Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.; he was an Olympic Torch Bearer in 1996; he was a YMCA Black & Hispanic Corporate Achiever Honoree in 1998 and a Elliott Donnelley - Diamond of Donnelley Honoree in 1999; he was Principal For A Day at Mayo Elementary School in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008; he was a Wendell Phillips Hall of Fame Inductee in 2000 and received the Chicago Youth Center's Yes I Can Award in 2005; he received the IBM President's Volunteer Service Award in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008; and

WHEREAS, Eddie Jones was preceded in death by his mother, Rosie Lee Jones; and

WHEREAS, Eddie Jones is survived by his high school sweetheart and the mother of his children, Dorothy A. Smith; his children, Iesha (Jones) James, Matthew Jones, and Meghan Jones; his grandchildren, Vess, Kalei, Kaitlyn, and Kaylin; his siblings, Catherine Shipp (Dan Shipp), Katie M. Thomas (Arthur Thomas), John H. Jones, Richard Jones (Pamela Jones), Paul Jones, Sylvia A. Jones, and Rochelle Jones; his father, Eddie Lee Jones Sr.; and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Eddie L. Jones II and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

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