HR0852 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0852 LRB096 19599 KXB 34991 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, State Representative Monique D. Davis and the members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Albert W. Johnson of Chicago, who passed away on January 13, 2010; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Johnson, a St. Louis native, who started selling cars door to door, then went on to become General Motors' first African-American franchise owner, helped elect Chicago's first black mayor and President Barack Obama; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Johnson was born February 23, 1920, the son of a physician and a homemaker; he received a B.S. degree in business administration at Lincoln University in 1940 and an M.S. degree in hospital administration from the University of Chicago in 1960; he was a hospital administrator in St. Louis in 1954 when he began to sell cars part-time; even though the owner would not allow a black man on the Oldsmobile premises and insisted he only sell to blacks, Mr. Johnson was the dealership's top salesman; and

WHEREAS, He wanted his own dealership and had to petition the company for 15 years before getting a franchise, finally securing his own in 1967; his dealership was so successful that General Motors handed him a Cadillac dealership in 1971; Al Johnson Cadillac grew and Mr. Johnson became an independent dealer the following year; and

WHEREAS, He moved the business to Tinley Park, helping spur a dealership row along a suburban stretch; he worked for Harold Washington's administration for $1 a year; he founded a coalition that drafted Mr. Washington to run for mayor, and then was a major campaign contributor; Mr. Johnson also was the first large donor to Barack Obama's U.S. Senate campaign, contributing $50,000; he was an important player in the John H. Stroger campaigns; and he was a founder of Rainbow, Operation PUSH's predecessor; and

WHEREAS, He married Marion E. Johnson in 1953; Mr. Johnson was chairman emeritus of the University of Illinois Center for Urban Business, College for Business Administration; he was a board member of LaRabida Children's Hospital, a member of the Executives' Club of Chicago, and the General Motors Black Dealers Advisory Board; and

WHEREAS, Albert Johnson is survived by his wife, Marion; his sons, Donald, Al Jr., and Antwoine; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Albert Johnson; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Albert W. Johnson as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.