HR0539 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0539 LRB096 13366 GRL 28072 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Marcus Alexis; and

WHEREAS, Marcus Alexis was born on February 26, 1932 in Brooklyn, New York to Joseph William and Eliza Jane Alexis; undeterred by poor vision as a child, he excelled in the New York public school system, earning the grades to attend Brooklyn College; and

WHEREAS, After receiving his bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College, Marcus Alexis embarked on a truly exceptional academic and professional journey, earning his master's degree in finance from Michigan State University in 1954 and his doctorate in economics from the University of Minnesota in 1959; he also performed post-doctoral work at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and

WHEREAS, Marcus Alexis was a nationally recognized scholar; he was widely known for his expertise on urban economics and public policy, particularly race and poverty issues, and on regulation and management strategy, especially surface transportation, rail, and trucking strategies; his expertise led him to numerous leadership positions in government and finance, including his appointment as director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in 1985 and service as the bank's deputy chairman and chairman in 1990; in 1979, he was appointed to the Interstate Commerce Commission by President Jimmy Carter, serving as commissioner, vice chairman, and acting chairman for over two years; and

WHEREAS, Marcus Alexis had a long and distinguished career in education; he held faculty posts at Macalester College, DePaul University, and the University of Rochester; in 1970, he joined the faculty at Northwestern University as a professor of economics and served as chairman of the economics department from 1976 to 1979 and from 1982 to 1985; in 1985, he joined the University of Illinois at Chicago as Dean of the School of Business, where he remained until he returned to the Northwestern faculty in 1991 as a Board of Trustees Professor of Economics, Management and Strategy, and African-American Studies; in 2005, he retired and became Professor Emeritus of Management & Strategy at the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management; and

WHEREAS, Marcus Alexis was instrumental in the founding of a program in 1974 that identified and supported promising minority undergraduate students to pursue doctorate degrees in economics; many of today's luminaries in the economics field are beneficiaries of the program; the program, which is supported by the American Economic Association and the National Economic Association and funded by the Ford Foundation, continues to this day; and

WHEREAS, Marcus Alexis was preceded in death by his brothers, Rudolph, John, Calvin, and George, and his sister, Victoria Sophia; and

WHEREAS, Marcus Alexis' greatest pleasure in life was his family, which includes his wife of nearly 40 years, Geraldine; his daughter, Hilary Alexis; his sons, Marcus II and Sean; his grandchildren, Eliza, Myles, and Cole; his sister, Doris Douglas, his daughters-in-law, Sahara Alexis and Aldona Clottey; his sister-in-law, Doris Alexis; and his numerous nieces and nephews; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Marcus Alexis; and be it further

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