Full Text of SR0499 102nd General Assembly
SR0499 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of James Keith "Whip" Williams of | 4 | | Springfield, who passed away on August 19, 2021; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Jim Williams was born in Lafayette, Indiana to | 6 | | Dr. James E. Williams and Lucinda Helen Keith Williams on | 7 | | January 30, 1934; he served in the U.S. Navy from 1953 to 1957, | 8 | | where he was stationed on Guam and at the Seabee facility at | 9 | | Port Hueneme, California, and he completed his service as a | 10 | | petty officer first class; he graduated from Purdue University | 11 | | in West Lafayette, Indiana in 1960, where he majored in | 12 | | journalism and was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and | 13 | | Student Journalism Society; he was also a tuba player and | 14 | | vocalist with the Salty Dogs, a student jazz band; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Jim Williams became a reporter for the Danville | 16 | | Commercial-News; he was then a reporter for the Rockford | 17 | | Register-Republic and Morning Star from 1963 to 1973, where he | 18 | | served as the newspapers' municipal government reporter and | 19 | | political editor before becoming the daily general-interest | 20 | | columnist; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Jim Williams received an Illinois Press | 22 | | Association first place award in 1965 for a four-part series |
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| 1 | | exposing widespread irregularities in Rockford municipal | 2 | | purchasing, resulting in the passage of a centralized | 3 | | purchasing ordinance for the city; he also won an Illinois | 4 | | Associated Press second place award in 1969 as a co-author of a | 5 | | five-part series exploring the impact of Alabama Governor | 6 | | George Wallace's candidacy in the presidential race; he was | 7 | | cited by the American Political Science Association in 1970 | 8 | | for excellence in public affairs reporting for a series of | 9 | | political columns tracking the issues during Illinois' 1970 | 10 | | Constitutional Convention; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Jim Williams served as press secretary to | 12 | | Illinois Comptroller George W. Lindberg from 1973 to 1977; he | 13 | | served as assistant press secretary to Illinois Governor James | 14 | | R. Thompson from 1977 to 1981, followed by ten years as the | 15 | | governor's staff assistant for public safety; he was chairman | 16 | | of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board during the eight years | 17 | | of Governor Jim Edgar's administration; he retired in 1999; | 18 | | and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, In 2010, Jim Williams wrote and self-published | 20 | | the bio-discographical book Jimmie Noone: Jazz Clarinet | 21 | | Pioneer, which included an extensive listing of Noone's | 22 | | recorded work in the 1920s and 1930s; he also self-published | 23 | | three detective novellas; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Jim Williams was a passionate collector of | 2 | | original issue 78 rpm jazz and blues recordings, focusing | 3 | | primarily on discs issued between 1923 and 1933; he was fond of | 4 | | playing the tenor banjo, tuba, and piano in later years, and he | 5 | | would occasionally play the banjo or the piano at parties and | 6 | | sing; he enjoyed cooking for friends, particularly in | 7 | | preparing barbecued hickory-smoked ribs and dishes with a | 8 | | Cajun or Creole flair; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Jim Williams is survived by his daughter, Marne | 10 | | Rebecca Williams; his granddaughter, Mallory Marne Jones; his | 11 | | great-grandson; and his great-granddaughter; therefore, be it
| 12 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 13 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 14 | | James Keith "Whip" Williams and extend our sincere condolences | 15 | | to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be | 16 | | it further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 | | presented to the family of Jim Williams as an expression of our | 19 | | deepest sympathy.
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