Full Text of HR0548 95th General Assembly
HR0548 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former | 4 |
| State Representative Sylvester O. Rhem of Chicago, who passed | 5 |
| away on June 14, 2007; and
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| WHEREAS, Sylvester O'Neal Rhem was born November 19, 1929 | 7 |
| to his parents, Edward and Martha O'Neal;
he attended the | 8 |
| Chicago Public Schools, graduating from McCosh Elementary | 9 |
| School and Englewood High School, then attending Wilson Junior | 10 |
| College; he later attended Loop Jr. College, completing the | 11 |
| Public Service Program for Chicago Executive Development, and | 12 |
| DePaul University for his Bachelors degree in Public | 13 |
| Administration; and
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| WHEREAS, Sylvester Rhem was a member of the Chicago Police | 15 |
| Department and was selected to serve on the elite Flying Squad; | 16 |
| he distinguished himself as an officer and detective and earned | 17 |
| 53 Honorable Mentions while working with the department;
in | 18 |
| February of 1965 he went on leave from the police department | 19 |
| when he was selected for a leadership position with the newly | 20 |
| formed Chicago Committee on Urban Opportunity, the Chicago arm | 21 |
| of the War on Poverty; and | 22 |
| WHEREAS, His hands-on leadership moved people to positive |
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| action and was one of Sylvester's greatest strengths; he served | 2 |
| in several top positions in many communities including: | 3 |
| Assistant Director at South Parkway, Douglas Park, and King | 4 |
| Urban Progress Center, as Director of Englewood, Lawndale, and | 5 |
| Near North Urban Progress Centers, as Area Manager of Lawndale, | 6 |
| West Garfield, North Avenue, and Cabrini-Green Units, and the | 7 |
| Garfield Service Center; in each community he was recognized | 8 |
| for outstanding leadership and community service, receiving | 9 |
| awards and citations, including being honored by the Illinois | 10 |
| National Guard during the Chicago Riot following the | 11 |
| assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King
; and
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| WHEREAS, Sylvester Rhem also served at Central | 13 |
| Headquarters in several capacities, including: Assistant to | 14 |
| the Director of Field Operations of Model Cities/CCUO and as | 15 |
| Assistant Executive Director of Programs, coordinating the | 16 |
| Mayor's Summer Baseball Program in 1976; he was also Assistant | 17 |
| Director of Personnel for the
Department of Human Services; in | 18 |
| 1984 he received the Distinguished Community Service Award by | 19 |
| the Concerned Black Executives of Social Service Organizations | 20 |
| for all his hard work in the community; and
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| WHEREAS, Sylvester Rhem volunteered as a precinct captain | 22 |
| in the 6th Ward and headed up the Volunteer Work Force in the | 23 |
| 3rd Ward for Tyrone T. Kenner; in 1980 he was appointed State | 24 |
| Representative of the 26th District and
served on several |
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| committees and commissions during the 82nd General Assembly; he | 2 |
| was reelected and served as State Representative for the 24th | 3 |
| District; he was honored as one of the pioneers in the struggle | 4 |
| by the History Makers and given a Distinguished Service
award; | 5 |
| he was instrumental in the passage of the Highway Funding Act | 6 |
| and received awards from the Illinois Road Builders Association | 7 |
| and General Contractors for Support and Leadership; and
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| WHEREAS, In retirement, Sylvester dedicated himself to | 9 |
| working with his church, St. Columbanus, and served as | 10 |
| president of the Usher Board, redesigning their operations; he | 11 |
| was a committed worker, leader, and builder of the Knights of | 12 |
| Peter Claver Council for St. Columbanus when the Council | 13 |
| received the Council of the Year Award for 2000; he was awarded | 14 |
| Grand Knight of the Year for the Northern State District for | 15 |
| 2000; he received the St. Felicita's/St. Ailbe's | 16 |
| African-American Image Award for Academic Excellence, | 17 |
| Leadership, Christian Values, and Dedication to the Community | 18 |
| and Community Service in 2002; On May 18, 2007 Sylvester was | 19 |
| given the Sir Knight Sylvester Rhem presentation; and
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| WHEREAS, Sylvester Rhem was preceded in death by his | 21 |
| mother, brother, Launy, and sister, Lois; and | 22 |
| WHEREAS, Sylvester Rhem leaves to celebrate his life and | 23 |
| mourn his death his son, Michael Christopher Rhem; his adopted |
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| daughter, Stephanie Inis; his grandchildren, Tonia Duke, | 2 |
| Leshun Duke, Wendy Bumphis, and Kayla Riley; his | 3 |
| great-grandchildren; his special friend, Brenda Inis; a host of | 4 |
| nieces and nephews; his lifelong friends, John Jarrett, John | 5 |
| Ford, Leann Hagan (Bobby Trap), and Tyrone Kenner; as well as | 6 |
| many other special friends; therefore, be it | 7 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 8 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 9 |
| mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of former | 10 |
| State Representative Sylvester O. Rhem; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 |
| presented to the family of Sylvester O. Rhem as a symbol of our | 13 |
| sympathy.
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