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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to  
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learn of the death of
Allen "Bo" Price of Evanston, who passed 
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away on May 1, 2009; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Allen "Bo" Price was a lifelong resident of 
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Evanston; he grew up on Darrow Avenue as one of the ten 
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children in his family; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Allen "Bo" Price, along with five of his brothers, 
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was drafted during World War II; he joined the U.S. Army in 
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1943 and fought in Europe from D-Day to VE-Day; he was one of 
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seven African-Americans featured in the 2007 documentary, "A 
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Distant Shore: African-Americans of D-Day"; he remained an 
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advocate for veterans' rights for the remainder of his life, 
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ensuring that wreaths were laid on the graves of local soldiers 
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every Memorial Day; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Allen "Bo" Price was employed with the Illinois 
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Highway Department and spent decades as a shoe repairman in 
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Glenview; he also made a life with the Snell Post of the 
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Veterans of Foreign Wars and the young people he served at 
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Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Allen "Bo" Price founded the Evanston Vanguards 
 


 






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Rifle and Drill Team in 1947; he was also an accomplished drill 
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team instructor, taking hundreds of local drill team members 
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around the country to compete against the nation's top 
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contenders; under his direction, the drill teams won numerous 
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State and national titles; he also began two drum and bugle 
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corps; in total, he trained more than 2,000 girls and boys; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Allen "Bo" Price was a co-founder of the Council 
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of Elders Pops and Moms (COE-POPS), a group that helped 
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discourage gang involvement in the 1980s; he was president of 
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the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center advisory board and 
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effectively pushed to improve, renovate, and expand the 
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facility and add more programs to engage young people; he was a 
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founding member and former commander of the Veterans of Foreign 
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Wars William B. Snell Post #7186 and a fixture as emcee of 
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Veterans Day and Memorial Day programs at Fountain Square; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 1998, Allen "Bo" Price had an honorary street 
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named for him, Allen "Bo" Price Drive, in honor of his 
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dedication to helping young people at Foster Field and the 
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Foster Community Center, later renamed Fleetwood-Jourdain; in 
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2006, the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Theatre saluted him 
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with a play titled "Honoring a Living Legend: The Life and 
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Times of Allen 'Bo' Price"; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Allen "Bo" Price will be remembered by all who 
 


 






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knew and loved him as an intensely patriotic and caring man; 
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therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with 
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his family and friends, the passing of Allen "Bo" Price; and be 
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it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the family of Allen "Bo" Price as an expression of 
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our sympathy.