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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of James M.
4Bailey Sr. of Alton, who passed away on August 10, 2012; and
 
5    WHEREAS, James Bailey Sr. was born on May 5, 1915, in
6Trenton, Tennessee; his family later moved to St. Louis, where
7he graduated from Vashon High School; he subsequently earned
8his bachelor's degree in education from Lincoln University in
91939 and his master's degree in education from the University
10of Illinois-Champaign in 1948; and
 
11    WHEREAS, After college, James Bailey Sr. went to Alton to
12work as a teacher and basketball coach at Lovejoy School; he
13later became principal at Central Junior High School and then
14assistant principal at Alton Senior High School; he was also
15the first black administrative assistant to the superintendent
16in the district; and
 
17    WHEREAS, James Bailey Sr. was the first black citizen to be
18elected to the Alton City Council and the first to be named as
19comptroller for the City of Alton; and
 
20    WHEREAS, James Bailey Sr. was instrumental in the creation
21of numerous local organizations that still exist today,

 

 

HR1195- 2 -LRB097 22486 GRL 71246 r

1including the Elijah P. Lovejoy Memorial Society and the
2Madison County Urban League; and
 
3    WHEREAS, James Bailey Sr. was the recipient of numerous
4awards and honors, including the Alton Community Citizens
5Award, the Lovejoy Human Rights Award, and the NAACP's
6Outstanding Citizen Award; in September of 2011, he was honored
7by the Ministry of Greater St. James Baptist Church as its
8fifth distinguished elder; the date of September 25 was
9designated "James M. Bailey Day in the City of Alton" by Mayor
10Tom Hoechst and the library at the new Alton High School was
11named the James M. Bailey Library in November 2006 in honor of
12his great work in the city; and
 
13    WHEREAS, James Bailey Sr. and his loving wife of 74 years,
14the former Mary Louise Simmons, had 2 sons, the Honorable Duane
15Bailey and Dr. James M. Bailey Jr.; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of
19James M. Bailey Sr.; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21presented to the family of James Bailey Sr. as an expression of
22our sympathy.