HR0836

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

  
 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
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Representatives are saddened to  learn of the death of
Wesley 
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South, who passed away on January 9, 2010; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Wesley South was born on March 23, 1914, in 
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Muskogee, Oklahoma; his parents were Dr. Elijah and Mayme 
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South; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Wesley South and his family moved to Chicago in 
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1924; he received his primary and secondary education in the 
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Chicago Public School system and graduated from Englewood High 
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School; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Wesley South served his country with pride and 
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distinction as a member of the U.S. Army for 2 years during 
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World War II; after leaving the service, he enrolled at 
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Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, In 1951, Wesley South was hired by The Chicago 
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Defender; in December of 1951, he joined the editorial staff of 
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the Johnson Publishing Company, where he worked for nearly 6 
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years; he also worked for the Chicago American and the Chicago 
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Daily News; and
 
 


 






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    WHEREAS, In 1961, while working as a columnist and doing 
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public relations work for the NAACP, Wesley South was 
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approached by a local radio executive, who asked Mr. South to 
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host his own show; in 1962, Leonard and Phil Chess of Chess 
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Records bought the station and changed the call letters to 
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WVON; 2 years later, Mr. South began his popular program, 
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Hotline; and
 
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    WHEREAS, During Hotline's 16-year run, Wesley South 
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interviewed such luminaries as Presidents John F. Kennedy and 
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Jimmy Carter, jazz great Duke Ellington, baseball pioneer 
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Jackie Robinson, and civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther 
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King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers; in 1979, he became a 
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part owner of WVON; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Wesley South was an active member of his 
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community, serving in various capacities with the NAACP, The 
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Chicago Urban League, and Operation Breadbasket; he also played 
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major roles in the political campaigns of Mayor Harold 
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Washington, Congressman Gus Savage, and former U.S. Senator 
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Carol Moseley Braun, as well as the elections of his daughter, 
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Leslie, to the Circuit Court of Cook County and the Illinois 
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Appellate Court; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Wesley South was preceded in death by his wife, 
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Mildred; and
 
 


 






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    WHEREAS, Wesley South is survived by his daughter, Leslie 
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South; his son-in-law, Arthur Jackson; and his grandson, Wesley 
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Jackson; therefore, be it
  
 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Wesley 
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South;  and be it further
  
 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the family of Wesley South as an expression of our 
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sympathy.