SJ0067 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0067 LRB099 24019 GRL 51612 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois General Assembly are saddened to learn of the death of William Garth, Sr., who passed away on September 23, 2016 at the age of 79; and

WHEREAS, William Garth, Sr. was the guiding force behind the largest black-owned, ABC-audited newspaper in the United States; and

WHEREAS, William Garth, Sr. was the Chairman of the Chicago Citizen Newspaper Group Inc. and Garthco, Inc., the founder and chairman of the QBG Foundation, and the chairman of the Chatham Business Association; and

WHEREAS, William Garth, Sr. began his career in publishing at the Chicago Citizen Newspaper in 1969; he purchased the Chatham Citizen, the Southend Citizen, and the Chicago Weekend in 1980, and later added the South Suburban and the Hyde Park editions; he also founded Garthco Publications, which published PUSH Magazine, a bi-monthly national publication for the Operation PUSH organization; and

WHEREAS, William Garth, Sr. became the first African-American to be elected President of the Illinois Press Association, the largest newspaper association in the State and the Office Trade Organization for Illinois weekly and daily newspapers; he also served on the IPA Board of the Government Affairs Committee for 15 years; and

WHEREAS, William Garth, Sr. was elected to be a stockholder in the Cook County South Suburban Publishers Association; in 2009, he was elected to serve as Chairman of the Cook County Publishers Association for 2010; and

WHEREAS, William Garth, Sr. founded the Quentis Bernard Garth Foundation, the benevolent arm of the Chicago Citizen Newspaper which provides scholarships to disenfranchised inner city youths in the Chicagoland area; to date, the foundation has helped over 50 students and has disbursed over $1.5 million in scholarship awards; and

WHEREAS, William Garth, Sr. was president of the Midwest Region III of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and the Region III Advertising Representative with the NNPA; he served on the Transition Team for the Illinois Department of Transportation's Dan Ryan Project; he was a board member of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, a lifetime member of the NAACP, and a member of the Chatham Lions Club; he was the recipient of numerous local and national awards and honors and was a torchbearer in Chicago during the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay; and

WHEREAS, William Garth, Sr. is survived by his son, Darrell; his daughter, Janice; his sisters, Geraldine, Orangie, and Charlie; his brothers, X. Rashid, Robert Sr., Roosevelt, Jessie, Larry, Joseph, Richard, and Steven; his granddaughters, Quinita and Savannah; his great-granddaughters, Armonee, Aniyyah, Aalina, and Arionna; his great-grandsons, Jeremy, Jaelyn, Shannon, and Jeron; many nieces, nephews, and cousins; the Citizens of News Family; and many other family members and friends; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we, along with his family and friends, mourn the passing of William Garth, Sr.; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of William Garth, Sr. as an expression of our sympathy.