Full Text of SR1080 101st General Assembly
SR1080 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Elgie R. Sims Sr., who passed away on | 4 | | March 7, 2020; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Elgie Sims Sr. was born to Carvin and Lizzie | 6 | | (Harris) Sims on August 2, 1942; he attended Washington High | 7 | | School, where he was known as one of the fastest men in | 8 | | Arkansas and earned the nickname Smoke; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Elgie Sims Sr. moved his family to Milwaukee, | 10 | | Wisconsin and then Chicago; he graduated from Chicago Automatic | 11 | | Transmission School, Greer Technical School, Sun Electric | 12 | | Technical School, and the Chicago School of Business; during | 13 | | this time, he began working at Mel's Manufacturing, where he | 14 | | became a union steward; he left to work at the Schwinn Bicycle | 15 | | Company and subsequently opened his first business, the | 16 | | Sims/Jackson Transmission Shop, while attending night school; | 17 | | and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, After completing business school in 1971, Elgie | 19 | | Sims Sr. opened Pete and Sims Shell Station; soon after, he | 20 | | opened Sims Auto Parts in Chicago and New Way Cleaners in El | 21 | | Dorado, Arkansas; in 1978, he expanded his business interests | 22 | | in Chicago to include three warehouses and auto parts stores; |
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| 1 | | one of his greatest business accomplishments came when he | 2 | | opened Sims Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge in Fordyce, Arkansas, | 3 | | making him the first African American in Arkansas to own a new | 4 | | car dealership; he also founded Sims Wrecker Service and | 5 | | Elgie's Used Cars; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Elgie Sims Sr. believed in giving back to his | 7 | | community and was honored when he was appointed to serve on the | 8 | | Arkansas Board of Towing and Recovery, where he served until | 9 | | 2016; he received numerous awards and recognitions, including | 10 | | one from the Nile and Marzell Smith Museum of African American | 11 | | History; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Elgie Sims Sr. was most proud of his greatest | 13 | | legacy, his family; he took pride in being the patriarch of his | 14 | | family, dispensing wisdom to his children, grandchildren, | 15 | | nephews, family, and friends; he was known for his many | 16 | | colorful sayings and the life lessons and challenges he gave | 17 | | himself and those around him; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Elgie Sims Sr. was preceded in death by his | 19 | | parents; his brother, Calvin; and special family members, | 20 | | Lorene Pettye Sims and Will Ella Gaston; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Elgie Sims Sr. is survived by his wife, Penny; his | 22 | | sons, Pastor Paul (Carol) Sims, Illinois State Senator Elgie |
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| 1 | | (Shivonne) Sims Jr., Terrence (Rashonda) Sims, Libue Steven | 2 | | Sims, Renelius (Shekasha) Sims, Sean Lea-Sims, and Josh Sims; | 3 | | his daughters, Teresa Sims, Evangelist Elgie Rena (Fletcher) | 4 | | Sims-Neely, Vicky (Mike) Brown, Krystal (Rodney) Norman, and | 5 | | Rashawnda (Albert) Hayes; his brother, Troy (Barbara) Sims; his | 6 | | sisters, Eva Lois (Roy) Eutsey and Barbara Johnson; 29 | 7 | | grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; a host of nieces and | 8 | | nephews, Robert, Marcus, Victor, and Marcus, and many friends; | 9 | | and special family members, Irma Sims and Barbara Howell; | 10 | | therefore, be it
| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 12 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 13 | | Elgie R. Sims Sr. and extend our sincere condolences to his | 14 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 15 | | further
| 16 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 17 | | presented to the family of Elgie Sims Sr. as an expression of | 18 | | our deepest sympathy.
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