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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Alvin J. Boutte, Sr.; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Alvin Boutte, Sr. was born on October 10, 1929, in
5Lake Charles, Louisiana; his parents were Arthur H. Boutte and
6Adorea Darensbourg Boutte; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Alvin Boutte, Sr. attended Sacred Heart Grammar
8and High School; he then continued his education under the
9Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament at Xavier University in New
10Orleans, Louisiana on a basketball scholarship; while
11attending the University he met his future wife, Barbara
12Gonzaque; and
 
13    WHEREAS, During college, Alvin Boutte, Sr. established
14businesses to service the needs of the student body, including
15a laundry pick up and payment collection business for the male
16students; after earning his degree in pharmacy, he moved to
17Chicago where a Xavier track coach, Ralph Metcalfe, had already
18established himself as Alderman of the 3rd Ward; and
 
19    WHEREAS, After college, Alvin Boutte, Sr. successfully
20completed the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School; he attained
21the rank of Captain and was stationed in Germany; after 2

 

 

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1years, he was honorably discharged and went to Chicago with his
2wife and daughters, Janice and Jeanette; after migrating to
3Chicago, he quickly acquired Lakeside Drug Store at 47th and
4Lake Park; he later turned the store into a chain of stores at
547th and Lake Park, Madison and Western, 79th and Cottage, and
679th and Michigan in Chicago; and
 
7    WHEREAS, In 1964, Alvin Boutte, Sr. became a co-founder of
8Independence Bank of Chicago; the bank was established to
9service the needs of the Chatham Avalon community and was
10dedicated to providing excellent service to its customers and
11to the professional development of its employees; he was most
12proud of the development of his staff to become presidents of
13other minority banks across the country and to hold executive
14positions; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Alvin Boutte, Sr. helped to advance the fledging
16Civil Rights Movement by repeatedly contributing money to Dr.
17Martin Luther King, Jr. and his Southern Christian Leadership
18Conference; he was also a key contributor with the group of
19businessmen who brought Nelson Mandela to Chicago in the summer
20of 1993 to raise money for his ANC political organization after
21he was freed; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Alvin Boutte, Sr. served as Chairman of Fulcrum
23Venture Capital Corporation, an early government-backed

 

 

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1venture fund established to provide growth equity to create
2long standing minority-owned businesses; he also served on the
3boards of directors of Johnson Products Co., Chicago
4Metropolitan Mutual Assurance Co., Midway Airlines, Rainbow
5PUSH, the Chicago Urban League, the Rehabilitation Institute of
6Chicago, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Junior
7Achievement, and the Chatham Business Association, among many
8others; he was appointed to the Chicago Board of Education by
9Mayor Richard J. Daley, and served 2 terms as one of the first
10African-American board members; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Alvin Boutte, Sr. received accolades and awards
12and was proudest of being Co-Chair of the Chicago Urban League
13Golden Fellowship gala; he was inducted into the Junior
14Achievement Chicago Businessmen Hall of Fame in 1993; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Alvin Boutte, Sr. is survived by his wife,
16Barbara; his daughters, Janice Boutte and Jeanette Simpson; his
17sons, Gregory and Alvin, Jr.; his 4 grandchildren; his 4
18great-grandchildren; and his many other relatives, friends,
19and admirers; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
21ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
22his family and friends, the passing of Alvin Boutte, Sr.; and
23be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to the family of Alvin Boutte, Sr. as an expression
3of our sympathy.