Full Text of HR1311 95th General Assembly
HR1311 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
Ronald L. | 4 |
| Davis of Chicago, who passed away on May 7, 2008; and
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| WHEREAS, Ronald L. Davis was born on November 12, 1951 in | 6 |
| Chicago; he was the oldest of five children born to Willie L. | 7 |
| Davis and Mamie Houston; and
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| WHEREAS, Ronald L. Davis grew up on the South Side of | 9 |
| Chicago, where he attended Catholic schools and Chicago Public | 10 |
| Schools; he graduated from Parker Senior High School in the | 11 |
| Englewood neighborhood of Chicago in 1968; during his senior | 12 |
| year, he was recruited by the University of Chicago, where he | 13 |
| completed his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics in | 14 |
| 1974; and
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| WHEREAS, While attending the University of Chicago, Ronald | 16 |
| L. Davis began a lifelong mission as an advocate for the | 17 |
| empowerment of black people in the areas of education and | 18 |
| politics; as a founding member of the Organization of Black | 19 |
| Students, he was instrumental in bringing black students into | 20 |
| the mainstream of student government on campus; and
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| WHEREAS, Ronald L. Davis earned two master's degrees, one |
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| in mathematics from East-West University and another in | 2 |
| Computer Science from Chicago State University; he later taught | 3 |
| C++ Programming at East-West University; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, While employed at GMAC as a repossession officer | 5 |
| and later at CNA Insurance as a programmer, Ronald L. Davis | 6 |
| became involved in Chicago local politics; as an independent | 7 |
| political consultant, he was a quiet force behind many | 8 |
| successful political campaigns and worked with and advised many | 9 |
| elected officials and aspiring political candidates; he | 10 |
| developed and worked to implement a city-wide voter | 11 |
| registration drive; as a consultant, he played a strategic role | 12 |
| in the congressional campaigns of United States Senators Paul | 13 |
| Simon and Charlie Hayes, the State Senate and congressional | 14 |
| campaigns of United States Senator Barack Obama, the aldermanic | 15 |
| campaigns of Sam Burrell, William Cousins, Billie Paige, Leslie | 16 |
| Hairston, Freddrenna Lyle, Willie Cochran, and Perry | 17 |
| Hutchinson, among others; among his favorite elected officials | 18 |
| were Illinois State Representative Constance Howard and Robert | 19 |
| Polk, Mayor of Burnham; he worked tirelessly as the Mid-South | 20 |
| Coordinator for the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and | 21 |
| coordinate hundreds of volunteers for the Mayor's re-election | 22 |
| campaign; he also volunteered thousands of hours with the NAACP | 23 |
| and Vernon Jarrett's ACT-SO program; and | 24 |
| WHEREAS, In the 1990s, Ronald L. Davis joined the faculty |
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| of the City Colleges of Chicago's Kennedy-King campus, where he | 2 |
| taught computer science and mathematics, eventually becoming | 3 |
| chairman of the mathematics department; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, Ronald L. Davis had a loyal circle of friends with | 5 |
| whom he loved to discuss local political issues; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, Ronald L. Davis is survived by his sisters, Diane | 7 |
| Davis and Mrs. Joann Flynn; his twin brothers, Victor and | 8 |
| Vincent Davis; his uncles, Edward Houston Sr. and James | 9 |
| Albritton; his seven nieces, 12 nephews, and three | 10 |
| great-nieces; his cousins, Mrs. Cynthia Scruggs (Eugene), | 11 |
| Donna Williams, Beverly Albritton, Jean Albritton, Edward | 12 |
| Houston Jr., Edward Houston III, and Gigi; and his extended | 13 |
| family, known as his "inner circle", Lenore and Josh, Mercedes, | 14 |
| Lloyd, Richard, Robert, Stephanie, Prentiss, Carolyn, and Al; | 15 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 17 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 18 |
| mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Ronald | 19 |
| L. Davis; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 |
| presented to the family of Ronald L. Davis as an expression of | 22 |
| our sympathy.
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