HR0864 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0864 LRB101 21594 LAW 72524 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Conrad Walter Worrill, Ph.D., who passed away on June 3, 2020; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Worrill was born in Pasadena, California to Walter and Anna Bell Worrill on August 15, 1941; he moved to Chicago at age nine; he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1962, and he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan; he returned to the U.S. in 1963; he earned his Bachelor of Science in Applied Behavioral Science from George Williams College in 1968; he earned his Master of Arts in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago in 1971; he earned his doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1973; he married Arlina Worrill; and

WHEREAS, After teaching at George Williams College for two years, Dr. Worrill joined the faculty of Northeastern Illinois University's Department of Inner City Studies, now Urban Community Studies, in 1976; during his 40-year tenure, he served as the program's department chair and academic coordinator; he served as the director of NEIU's Jacob H. Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies (CCICS) in Bronzeville, which he helped establish with Drs. Jacob H. Carruthers and Anderson Thompson; together in 1971, they started an Annual Study Tour at NEIU, which took students to countries in Africa and other countries in the African Diaspora to learn about the impact of African people on civilizations all over the world; he retired from Northeastern Illinois University in December of 2018; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Worrill was the radio host of WVON's "On Target" and a key figure in the Great Black Music Project, which sponsors the Jazzy Mondays series at the Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies; he wrote the syndicated weekly column Worrill's World, which was widely read in African American newspapers across the country; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Worrill served in leadership roles in numerous organizations, including the National Black United Front and the Black United Fund of Illinois (BUFI); he was active with the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N'COBRA) and was a special consultant for the 1995 Million Man March; in 1983, he helped to elect Chicago's first Black mayor, Harold Washington, and co-founded the Task Force for Black Political Empowerment; he traveled to Geneva, Switzerland with a delegation to formally charge the U.S. government with genocide and human rights violations before the Commission on Human Rights in 1997; he also presented the petition to the United Nations; he led a 400-member delegation to the U.N. World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa in 2001; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Worrill had been an athlete in his youth and believed opportunities for inner city youth could be gained through athletic scholarships; during his retirement, he continued to push for an indoor track facility to be built on the South Side of Chicago; he fought for the Gately Park Indoor Track and Field Facility for 35 years; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Worrill, writer, educator, activist, historian, and former talk show host, was a mentor to many and the person most reporters turned to for a perspective on matters impacting the African-American community; his voice will be greatly missed, and his extraordinary career is best expressed with his own words, "I have attempted to provide leadership based on the foundation of what others built, in hopes that the next generation would build on what we have attempted to preserve"; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Worrill is survived by his wife, Arlina Worrill, and his daughters, Femi Skanes, Sobenna Worrill, Michelle Worrill, and Kimberley Aisha King; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Conrad Walter Worrill, Ph.D. and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Dr. Worrill as an expression of our deepest sympathy.