Full Text of SR0639 95th General Assembly
SR0639 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
SR0639 |
|
LRB095 20722 KXB 49173 r |
|
| 1 |
| SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of R. Eugene Pincham of Chicago, who passed | 4 |
| away on April 3, 2008; and
| 5 |
| WHEREAS, R. Eugene Pincham was born in Chicago on June 28, | 6 |
| 1925 and grew up in Alabama; he graduated from high school in | 7 |
| 1942 and later attended LeMoyne College in Memphis; he | 8 |
| transferred to Tennessee State University in 1944 and earned a | 9 |
| bachelor's degree in political science in 1947; and
| 10 |
| WHEREAS, He married Alzata C. Henry in 1948 and enrolled in | 11 |
| Northwestern University School of Law that same year; he worked | 12 |
| his way through school by waiting on tables at the Palmer House | 13 |
| Hotel and shining shoes; he earned his law degree in 1951; and
| 14 |
| WHEREAS, He practiced law for the next 25 years; he was a | 15 |
| brilliant criminal defense lawyer and a hero in Chicago's black | 16 |
| neighborhoods; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, R. Eugene Pincham built a law practice as a | 18 |
| advocate of causes that few others would champion; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, His knowledge, savvy and one-of-a-kind oratory | 20 |
| made him the stuff of legends in the Cook County courts; and |
|
|
|
SR0639 |
- 2 - |
LRB095 20722 KXB 49173 r |
|
| 1 |
| WHEREAS, During closing arguments, people would fill the | 2 |
| courtroom just to hear Mr. Pincham speak; and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, Even though a renowned barrister, he took the time | 4 |
| to mentor young lawyers, both as a lawyer and later as a judge; | 5 |
| and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, Many have said that Judge Pincham encouraged | 7 |
| people to do `what was right rather than what was expedient; | 8 |
| and
| 9 |
| WHEREAS, He served as both a Cook County judge and Illinois | 10 |
| Appellate Court justice; he became a Circuit Court judge in | 11 |
| 1976 and was assigned to the Criminal Division, where he served | 12 |
| until 1984; he then became an Appellate Court justice and | 13 |
| resigned in 1989; and
| 14 |
| WHEREAS, He was a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi | 15 |
| Fraternity; and he was a member of Trinity United Church of | 16 |
| Christ; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, In 1989 he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic | 18 |
| Party nomination for president of the Cook County Board of | 19 |
| Commissioners; he was the nominee for mayor of Chicago in the | 20 |
| Harold Washington Party in 1991; he lost the election but |
|
|
|
SR0639 |
- 3 - |
LRB095 20722 KXB 49173 r |
|
| 1 |
| carried 19 of the 50 city wards; and
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, After his retirement, Judge Pincham continued to | 3 |
| practice law; he also lectured at Harvard University, | 4 |
| Northwestern, DePaul, Notre Dame, and the University of | 5 |
| Chicago; he was a member of the American Civil Liberties Union | 6 |
| and a lifetime member of the NAACP; and | 7 |
| WHEREAS, Judge Pincham is survived by his son, Robert | 8 |
| Eugene Pincham Jr.; his daughter, Dr. Andrea Michelle | 9 |
| Pincham-Benton; his son, James Frederick Pincham; and his three | 10 |
| grandchildren; he was preceded in death by his wife; therefore, | 11 |
| be it
| 12 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 13 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 14 |
| his family and friends, the passing of Judge R. Eugene Pincham; | 15 |
| and be it further
| 16 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 17 |
| presented to the family of R. Eugene Pincham as a symbol of our | 18 |
| sympathy.
|
|