HR0987 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0987 LRB097 21231 GRL 68854 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Robert Terry Starks of Chicago on the occasion of his retirement as associate professor with the Northeastern Illinois University Inner City Studies Education Program; and

WHEREAS, Robert Starks was born on January 24, 1944, in Grenada, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Robert Starks earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Loyola University in Chicago in June of 1968 and his master's degree in urban studies from Loyola University in June of 1971; in 1971, he began working toward his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Robert Starks was employed as a research specialist at the Chicago Urban League from 1967 to 1970; he also worked as a management consultant at Booz-Allen and Hamilton, Inc. in Chicago from 1968 to 1969 and has served as a political columnist and political editor at the N'DIGO Newspaper since 1991; and

WHEREAS, Robert Starks began his career in higher education as director of Black Studies Program and instructor in the Political Science Department at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb in 1970; in 1972, he became an instructor at the Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) Department of Inner City Studies; in 1976, he became a tenured assistant professor with the NEIU Department of Inner City Studies; in 1982, he became an associate professor with the NEIU Department of Educational Leadership and Development's Inner City Studies Education Program; in 1999, he was the Founder, Grantsman, and Director of the Harold Washington Institute for Research and Policy Studies' Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies; and

WHEREAS, Robert Starks and his wife, Judith A. Starks, have 2 children, Kenya Miriama and Robert Willis; and

WHEREAS, Robert Starks serves as a model of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Robert Starks on the occasion of his retirement, thank him for his many years of dedicated service in higher education, and wish him many happy and healthy retirement years; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Robert Starks as a symbol of our esteem and respect.