Full Text of SR0373 95th General Assembly
SR0373 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of
William Hugh Davis of Oak Park, who | 4 |
| passed away on September 5, 2007; and
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| WHEREAS, Bill Davis was born in Baltimore on February 24, | 6 |
| 1948; after the divorce of his parents, he was sent to live | 7 |
| with his maternal grandparents in the hills of West Virginia; | 8 |
| after graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United | 9 |
| States Air Force in August 1966, serving in the Tactical | 10 |
| Airlift Squadron at Vung Tau Army Airfield in Vietnam and in | 11 |
| Thailand; he joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War while | 12 |
| serving in the Air Force, later becoming a national | 13 |
| coordinator; and
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| WHEREAS, After his discharge in 1970, Bill Davis went to | 15 |
| live with his mother in Akron, Ohio, and became more active in | 16 |
| the anti-war movement, leading him to move to Columbus, Ohio | 17 |
| and Chicago; he met his wife Joan in Chicago, where she had | 18 |
| come to protest the war as well; the couple married in 1978 and | 19 |
| settled in Oak Park; and
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| WHEREAS, Bill Davis continued to be a voice against war and | 21 |
| was one of the founders of Labor Against the War, a group | 22 |
| protesting the Iraq war, and worked closely with Iraq Veterans |
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| Against the War; over the years, he had become a staple of | 2 |
| Memorial Day and Veterans Day activities throughout Chicago and | 3 |
| hosted the Chicago visit of the national tour for the Vietnam | 4 |
| Association for Victims of Agent Orange; and
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| WHEREAS, Bill Davis was a mechanic for United Parcel for | 6 |
| over 30 years, retiring from his position in 2007; throughtout | 7 |
| his career, he was focused on preserving democracy within his | 8 |
| union; he was elected President of the Automobile Mechanics | 9 |
| Union 701 in 2004; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, Bill Davis was well known within Automobile | 11 |
| Mechanics Union 701 as a natural leader who relentlessly fought | 12 |
| for the union's members at meetings and picket lines; he earned | 13 |
| the admiration and respect of every member of his union through | 14 |
| his determination and his unrelenting belief in his work; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, Bill Davis was also politically active, having | 16 |
| served as a Democratic precinct captain in Oak Park; he also | 17 |
| worked on many campaigns, including the campaigns of Danny | 18 |
| Davis and Harold Washington; and
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| WHEREAS, Bill Davis was an avid football and music lover; | 20 |
| he served as baseball coach, league director, and board member | 21 |
| of Oak Park Youth Baseball; and |
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| WHEREAS, Bill Davis always sported a wide, nurturing smile, | 2 |
| which was shaded by a genuine Chicago mustache; and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, Bill Davis was preceded in death by his son, | 4 |
| Joshua; and
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| WHEREAS, Bill Davis is survived by his wife, Joan; his | 6 |
| daughter, Rebecca; his father, Warren; his half-siblings, | 7 |
| Cathy Fox, Bo Davis, and Carla Taras; his stepsister, Anna | 8 |
| Carabucci; his godson, Dylan O'Connor; his nephew, Aaron Gatti; | 9 |
| his sister-in-law, Gail Hammer; and his brother-in-law, | 10 |
| Claudio Gatti; and
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| WHEREAS, Bill Davis will be remembered by all who knew and | 12 |
| loved him as a charismatic, witty, intelligent, and hard | 13 |
| working person who was liked and respected by many, as a person | 14 |
| who always took his union business and his public advocacy | 15 |
| seriously, and as someone who always stood up for what was | 16 |
| right, whether it was for peace and justice or for not throwing | 17 |
| back home run balls at Sox Park; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 19 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 20 |
| his family and friends, the passing of William Hugh Davis; and | 21 |
| be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 |
| presented to the family of William Hugh Davis as an expression | 3 |
| of our sympathy.
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