Full Text of HR0121 97th General Assembly
HR0121 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, State Representative Monique D. Davis and the | 3 | | members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened | 4 | | to learn of the death of Benjamin C. Duster III of Chicago, who | 5 | | passed away on February 11, 2011; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, He was the grandson of Ida B. Wells, legendary | 7 | | anti-lynching crusader; she was born a slave and later became a | 8 | | journalist, suffragist, and a founder of the NAACP; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, He was born in Bronzeville and grew up during the | 10 | | Depression; he was the oldest of five children born to Alfreda | 11 | | and Benjamin Duster; he was influenced by his mother, who | 12 | | graduated from the University of Chicago and was sought out by | 13 | | many for her guidance; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, He attended Wendall Phillips High School and | 15 | | graduated as class valedictorian at the age of 16; he studied | 16 | | electrical engineering at the University of Illinois at | 17 | | Urbana-Champaign and joined Alpha Phi Alpha; after the passing | 18 | | of his father, he returned home to help his mother, working as | 19 | | a bricklayer and running an auto garage and construction firm, | 20 | | all while attending night classes at DePaul University to | 21 | | become a lawyer; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, He served in the United States Army as an ordnance | 2 | | technician in the early 1950s; he ran against political | 3 | | powerhouse "Big Bill" Dawson for the 1st District congressional | 4 | | seat in 1962, losing the election but taking on the political | 5 | | "Machine" of Chicago; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, He earned his MBA from the University of Chicago | 7 | | in 1967 and worked at the investment firm of G.H. Walker & | 8 | | Company; his volunteer work with education in the late 1960s | 9 | | and early 1970s helped bring about later school reform; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, He opened his own law firm and worked there for 30 | 11 | | years, specializing in residential and commercial real estate; | 12 | | he was president of Seaway Communications for a brief time; he | 13 | | was named chair of the Illinois Commission on Human Rights by | 14 | | former Illinois Governor Richard Ogilvie, serving from 1971 to | 15 | | 1973; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, He loved barbecuing ribs and shrimp on a large | 17 | | grill he fashioned himself; he loved deviled eggs, theater, | 18 | | especially works by August Wilson, and "Les Miserables"; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Benjamin C. Duster III is survived by his wife, | 20 | | Murrell; his son, Benjamin Duster IV; his brothers, Donald and | 21 | | Troy; his daughters, Alice Pennamon and Muriel DeVore; his | 22 | | sister, Alfreda Duster Ferrell; and his 11 grandchildren; |
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| 1 | | therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 3 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 4 | | we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of | 5 | | Benjamin C. Duster III; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 7 | | presented to the family of Benjamin C. Duster III as a symbol | 8 | | of our sincere sympathy.
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