Full Text of HR0291 102nd General Assembly
HR0291 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to commend Frank Williams, community | 4 | | activist, fair housing advocate, and successful real estate | 5 | | professional, for his lifetime of diligent work for equal | 6 | | rights for homeowners; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Frank Williams was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas | 8 | | and raised in Flint, Michigan; he and his family moved to | 9 | | Chicago in 1962; he took a job with the postal service and | 10 | | began studying accounting; in 1965, he and his wife, Joanne, | 11 | | began shopping for a home, and he took a real estate course to | 12 | | feel better equipped for the process; he subsequently took the | 13 | | real estate exam, passed, and joined the now defunct Midwest | 14 | | Realty; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Frank Williams became a REALTOR in 1969 and | 16 | | opened FJ Williams Realty two years later; for decades, he has | 17 | | advocated for fair housing legislation in Springfield and | 18 | | Chicago, and following the civil rights movement, he found | 19 | | homes for black buyers in historically white areas on the | 20 | | southwest side, including his own neighborhood of Beverly; he | 21 | | persisted in his efforts to desegregate these neighborhoods | 22 | | despite ongoing harassment and threats, including a bomb being | 23 | | detonated outside his front door; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In addition to his service as the second | 2 | | African-American president of the Chicago Association of | 3 | | REALTORS (CAR), Frank Williams served as the president of the | 4 | | Dearborn Realtist Board from 1973 to 1974; he was president of | 5 | | CAR from 1989 to 1990, where he championed fair housing and | 6 | | diversity; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Frank Williams was president of the Southside | 8 | | Chicago branch of the National Association for the Advancement | 9 | | of Colored People (NAACP) from 1979 to 1985, during a time when | 10 | | affordable housing and integration ranked among the top real | 11 | | estate issues in the city and suburbs; during his term with the | 12 | | NAACP, he helped create a monitoring program to oversee | 13 | | housing discrimination and placed a strong emphasis on the | 14 | | hiring and placement of minorities in the real estate | 15 | | industry; his emphasis on mentorship, education, and the | 16 | | hiring and placement of minorities in the real estate business | 17 | | truly helped to advance and strengthen the real estate | 18 | | industry in Illinois; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Frank Williams was chosen by The Illinois | 20 | | Association of REALTORS in 1991 to hold the first | 21 | | Distinguished Member Award for Community Service, and the | 22 | | following year, he was named CAR's REALTOR of the Year; during | 23 | | this time, he led efforts to create a $25,000 scholarship for |
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| 1 | | minority students to pursue a career in real estate; in 2017, | 2 | | he was inducted into the Chicago Association of Realtors Hall | 3 | | of Fame and was awarded the 2017 Gale Cincotta Community | 4 | | Visionary Award by Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, | 5 | | which is presented annually to a person who exemplifies | 6 | | leadership, innovation, and passion in making their community | 7 | | a better place to live; in addition to receiving numerous | 8 | | prestigious awards, he was appointed to serve on the | 9 | | Affordable Housing Task Force and the Real Estate Services | 10 | | Advisory Council by former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Frank Williams has been a vigorous supporter of | 12 | | community action groups seeking social change; he has served | 13 | | as a real estate educator and a board member for numerous | 14 | | national and local housing associations; he has offered | 15 | | unparalleled compassion and commitment in all of his efforts | 16 | | to serve his community, the State, and the nation; therefore, | 17 | | be it
| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 19 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 20 | | we commend Frank Williams, community activist, fair housing | 21 | | advocate, and successful real estate professional, for his | 22 | | lifetime of diligent work for equal rights for homeowners; and | 23 | | be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | presented to Frank Williams as a symbol of our respect and | 3 | | esteem.
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