HR0277 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0277 LRB103 31259 ECR 58317 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to recognize Bishop Lance Davis for his work in organizing the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus delegation's West African trip to Ghana in January 2023; and

WHEREAS, From January 14, 2023 to January 23, 2023, the eight member delegation visited Accra, Ghana, a prominent African city that is rich in tradition, the homeland of many Illinois residents, the capital of Ghana, and the first African nation to gain independence from colonial rule; and

WHEREAS, Highlights of the trip included meeting with Elizabeth Sackey, the first woman to serve as Mayor of Accra, visiting the U.S. Embassy in Ghana, and meeting with John Kufuor, the former President of Ghana; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Davis served as a co-organizer for the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus delegation's trip to Ghana; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Davis was born on the West Side of Chicago; while still in high school, he co-managed his father's organization, which included seven Popeyes chicken restaurants and two McDonald's restaurants; he then opened two Docks Seafood restaurants in the 1980s, where he insisted on hiring marginalized young people in an effort to help them learn a solid work ethic and workplace disciplines; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Davis completed his seminary studies at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC); after serving as a pastor at the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church for 12 years, he founded the New Zion Covenant Church in Dolton in 2003, which was later brought into the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) in 2010; he was elected as the executive minister of Ordered Ministry of the ECC in 2018, thereby becoming the first African American to hold the position in its 135-year history; he was responsible for the supervision, care, discipline, and development of nearly 2,500 pastors, 207 military, hospital, and prison chaplains, and 157 missionaries serving on five continents before concluding his term in mid-2022; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Davis has operated several successful businesses while serving the church; in 2002, he established the XGD Corporation, a construction company contracted by the Chicago Housing Authority to rehabilitate hundreds of low-income housing units; in 2010, he and his wife, Kara, established Zion Behavioral Health in order to provide safe and caring mental health services to the South Suburbs; in 2015, he established Kinsmen Development, securing one million dollars in real estate financing to purchase and rehabilitate nearly 20 dilapidated homes in Dolton; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Davis has also established several not-for-profit agencies; he created Voices of Morality to speak against police brutality and the unfair lending practices of banks and other merchants; in 1996, he founded Building Our Own Community, Inc. (BOOC), which has been instrumental in feeding thousands of residents in the South Suburbs, and opened the area's first robotics training program for youth; in 2003, he and his family purchased the former Dolton Expo Center, an 88,000 square foot multi-use facility, where he has housed BOOC, the New Zion Christian Fellowship Church, the Joseph Storehouse Food Pantry, and the Up-Scale Rummage Sale resale shop and hosted many Christian hip-hop concerts and events; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Davis has routinely invested in and given back to Ghana; he established a water borehole drilling company in Ghana, providing clean potable water for thousands of Ghanaian villagers; in 2004, he founded Sankofa Venture, which has a touring subsidiary, Sankofa US, that facilitates and organizes travel to Ghana, West Africa for African Americans who are interested in return, or heritage tracing, journeys; to date, he and the Sankofa team have helped more than 1,000 African Americans travel to Ghana; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Davis has received a number of accolades for his work, including by former Secretary of State Jesse White, the Chicago Defender online newspaper with the Pastor's Salute Award, the Human Resource Development Institute, and the Village of Harvey, which renamed Cooper Avenue as Bishop Lance Davis Street; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Davis is a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., a member of the Druids Club of Chicago, and a board member of the African Diaspora Sixth Region Association of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Davis is married to Kara E. Davis, M.D., and they have four adult children, Grace, Andrew, Lance Nathaniel, and Natalie Kara; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize Bishop Lance Davis for co-organizing the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus delegation's West African trip to Ghana in January 2023; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Bishop Davis as a symbol of our esteem and respect.