Full Text of HR0948 95th General Assembly
HR0948 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Reverend | 4 |
| Kenneth B. Smith Sr., of Chicago, who passed away on January | 5 |
| 21, 2008; and
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| WHEREAS, Kenneth Smith was born in Montclair, New Jersey, | 7 |
| on February 19, 1931, the fifth child of Dorothy and William | 8 |
| Smith; he received his Bachelor's degree in history from | 9 |
| Virginia Union University and his Master's degree at Drew | 10 |
| University; he came to Chicago in the 1950s, worked for the | 11 |
| Wabash Avenue YMCA, and received his divinity degree from | 12 |
| Bethany Theological Seminary in Oak Brook in 1960; and
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| WHEREAS, After his ordination in the United Church of | 14 |
| Christ, he served as assistant minister at the Congregational | 15 |
| Church of Park Manor and was the founding pastor of the Trinity | 16 |
| United Church of Christ; he later served in the Chicago | 17 |
| Community Renewal Society and as senior pastor at the Church of | 18 |
| the Good Shepherd, Congregational, in Washington Park; he was a | 19 |
| national figure in the reform of the United Church of Christ in | 20 |
| the 1970s, and was named chairman of the national executive | 21 |
| committee in 1971; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1984, he became president of the Chicago |
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| Theological Seminary, a position he held until 1998; while | 2 |
| president, he helped attract new talent to the school's | 3 |
| teaching and administrative positions and helped the school | 4 |
| achieve better financial stability; his devotion to religious | 5 |
| studies was acknowledged by the Chicago Theological Seminary | 6 |
| with the naming of the Kenneth B. Smith Chair in Religious | 7 |
| Studies in his honor; he was also awarded the Graham Taylor | 8 |
| Award in Public Ministry by the Seminary for his devotion and | 9 |
| dedication; and
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| WHEREAS, His devotion to the public included serving as | 11 |
| Adolescent Council Member for the Carnegie Corporation, New | 12 |
| York; serving on former President Clinton's Taskforce on Teen | 13 |
| Pregnancy; serving on the Visiting Committee of the University | 14 |
| of Chicago School of Social Administration; serving on the | 15 |
| Board of the National Center for the Humanities, the Board of | 16 |
| the Community Development Corporation of Bank of America, | 17 |
| Illinois, the YMCA Metropolitan Board of Managers, the AARP | 18 |
| Andrus Foundation Board of Trustees, and serving as Treasurer | 19 |
| of the United Way of Chicago; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, In addition, Reverend Smith also was a former | 21 |
| board member of the Illinois Service Federal Savings and Loan | 22 |
| Associates and worked with the Chicago Urban League; he served | 23 |
| as a Trustee to both DePaul University and Talledega College; | 24 |
| he was also a senior fellow of the Chicago Community Trust; in |
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| 1979 he was appointed to the Chicago Board of Education and | 2 |
| served for one year as president of the Board, working to | 3 |
| desegregate Chicago schools and fix financial problems; and
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| WHEREAS, His many honors include being named Volunteer of | 5 |
| the Year from the United Way of Chicago and Humanitarian of the | 6 |
| Year from the Abraham Lincoln Center; his eight honorary | 7 |
| doctorates include ones bestowed by Roosevelt University and | 8 |
| Chicago State University; he was named Urban Leaguer of the | 9 |
| Year by the Chicago Urban League; in addition, he received many | 10 |
| other honors and awards for his lifetime of service to others; | 11 |
| and | 12 |
| WHEREAS, The passing of Reverend Kenneth B. Smith Sr. will | 13 |
| be deeply felt by his wife of thirty-seven years, Gladys Smith; | 14 |
| his sons, Kenneth B. Smith, Jr. and Kristen B. Smith; his | 15 |
| daughter, Kourtney (Luther) Montgomery; his sisters, Juanita | 16 |
| Smith, Hettie Smith, and Hester Robinson; his brother, Peter | 17 |
| Smith, Sr.; and his grandchildren, Kenneth B. Smith III, Kara | 18 |
| Smith, Kevin Smith, Kara Montgomery, Kelsey Smith, and Luther | 19 |
| Montgomery; he will be remembered as a kind and faithful | 20 |
| gentleman by those that knew him; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 22 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 23 |
| mourn, along with his family, friends, and the many people |
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| whose lives were touched by him, the passing of Reverend | 2 |
| Kenneth B. Smith Sr.; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 4 |
| presented to the family of Reverend Smith as a symbol of our | 5 |
| sincere sympathy.
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