SR1272 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1272 LRB102 29218 LAW 41168 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of John Hughes, who passed away on September 5, 2022; and

WHEREAS, John Hughes was born to Ernest W. Hughes Jr. and Sletta Estella Hughes in Princeton, New Jersey on June 21, 1951; he graduated as a Paul Robeson Scholar from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1974; and

WHEREAS, John Hughes held a long career in public broadcasting; he began at the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority after college before leaving to hold executive positions at Georgia Public Broadcasting and WABE in Atlanta, Georgia; he then became a general manager for Clark Atlanta University's radio station, WCLK; he later relocated to become a program executive at Howard University's WHUT public television station in Washington, D.C.; he also served as general manager of WPFW, the Pacifica station in Washington, D.C.; and

WHEREAS, Most recently, John Hughes served as general manager of radio station KPVU, located on the campus of Prairie View A&M University, in Prairie View, Texas, starting in 2016; during his tenure, he rebranded KPVU to The Art of Soul to bridge gaps between neo-soul, jazz, world music, and Latin music; he also helped KPVU, traditionally a jazz station, introduce modern R&B and hip-hop programming to its schedule; and

WHEREAS, John Hughes was a lifelong lover of music, with some of his favorite artists including Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, Gil Scott-Heron, Celia Cruz, Donny Hathaway, Grover Washington Jr., Nina Simone, George Benson, Stevie Wonder, Gregory Porter, and Paul Robeson; he loved international travel, food, sports, politics, Cuban art, and culture; he maintained decades-long friendships with his Groove Phi Groove brothers and his Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey crews; and

WHEREAS, John Hughes was known for his stunning wit, his soaring intelligence, his captivating storytelling, his infinite love for friends and family, his mischievous sense of adventure, and his boundless charm; he will be remembered for advocating for greater diversity in programming, mentoring students of color at historically Black colleges and universities, and helping to create a broadcast engineering program at Prairie View A&M University to increase the number of Black engineers in the industry; and

WHEREAS, John Hughes was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Thomas; and

WHEREAS, John Hughes is survived by his siblings, Charles Hughes, Douglas Hughes, Nancy Holley Hughes, Ella Noyland Hughes, Ernia P. Hughes, and Sletta Hughes Arobo; his godmother; and an extended family of cousins, nieces, nephews, and godchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of John Hughes 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 John Hughes as an expression of our deepest sympathy.