093_HR0078

 
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 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, In 1983,  former  State  Representative  Anthony
 3    Young  was  informed of an offer he couldn't refuse; Coy Pugh
 4    offered to volunteer for Representative Young for  six  days,
 5    at the end of which time he would promise to afford Coy lunch
 6    money  and  car  fare  for the next 60 days, finally if Coy's
 7    efforts added to the growth of  the  organization,  he  would
 8    place  him  on  the payroll; after the first 30 days, Coy was
 9    hired as Representative Young's administrative assistant; and

10        WHEREAS, In 1985, Coy Pugh became the Executive  Director
11    of  the  Westside  Small Business Development Center (WSBDC),
12    which was a member of the small business  development  center
13    program  designed  by  the  State  of Illinois' Department of
14    Commerce and Community Affairs under the Build Illinois  Act,
15    put  in  place by then Governor James Thompson; WSBDC offered
16    technical assistance to small business owners, entrepreneurs,
17    and perspective business owners by designing, developing, and
18    implementing seminars and workshops focusing on the needs  of
19    the small businessperson; and

20        WHEREAS,  By  1989,  the WSBDC joined forces and Coy Pugh
21    became the Director of a  coalition  of  40  community  based
22    organizations  known as Austin United, the project was funded
23    by a large coalition of businesses known as  Chicago  United;
24    and

25        WHEREAS,   Coy   Pugh  was  appointed  to  the  House  of
26    Representatives in 1991; in 1992 after an intensely contested
27    and bitter campaign, he won  the  Democratic  nomination  for
28    State   Representative   in   the   10th  District  with  the
29    community's overwhelming support; news of his improbable  win
30    spread  throughout  the  country and was featured in national
31    publications such as Ebony and the National Enquirer; and

32        WHEREAS, As State Representative, Coy championed  a  move
 
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 1    to   abolish   the   death  penalty  in  Illinois,  where  he
 2    successfully adopted House Resolution 60, which  resulted  in
 3    Governor  George  Ryan calling for a moratorium on executions
 4    in  Illinois;  in  addition  to  serving  on  numerous  House
 5    committees, Representative Pugh served as the Chairman of the
 6    Revenue Committee; and

 7        WHEREAS, Coy  holds  a  Masters'  Degree  in  Theological
 8    Studies   from   the   University   of   Chicago's  McCormick
 9    Theological Seminary; he has traveled to Israel and  has  met
10    with  former  head  of state Prime Minister Netanyahu and has
11    worked with Brazil's political leadership;  he  has  traveled
12    extensively  in  West  Africa  and  participated  in  a trade
13    mission to the Republic of South Africa developing trade  and
14    business  opportunities  with  the  heads  of  state in those
15    countries; he also served as the  Pastor  of  West  Englewood
16    Church  on  Chicago's  south side and Olivet United Methodist
17    church on the city's west side; and

18        WHEREAS, After serving in the Illinois State  Legislature
19    four  consecutive  terms, in January 2002 Coy started his own
20    lobbying practice  combining  his  collective  experience  to
21    promote   the  interests  of  community  based  civil  rights
22    organizations  along   with   Northwestern   University   law
23    professors  and families of individuals wrongly convicted and
24    sentenced to death;  to  date,  with  the  efforts  of  these
25    individuals  including  the  local  media  (Tribune), several
26    individuals sentenced to death have been released and  others
27    had  their  death sentences commuted, resulting in a clearing
28    out of Death Row; and

29        WHEREAS,  Coy  currently  works  for  individuals  facing
30    possible convictions that may result in the death penalty, as
31    a mitigator for the Cook County Public Defenders Office as he
32    continues his fight for justice, equity, and the abolition of
33    the death penalty; therefore, be it
 
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 1        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES   OF   THE
 2    NINETY-THIRD  GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
 3    we thank Coy Pugh for his dedicated service to the people and
 4    the State of Illinois; and be it further

 5        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
 6    presented to Coy Pugh as an expression of our esteem.