Full Text of SR1364 100th General Assembly
SR1364 100TH 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 William Cousins Jr., who passed away on | 4 | | January 20, 2018; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Bill Cousins was born in Swiftown, Mississippi, | 6 | | the son of a longshoreman father; he moved with his family to | 7 | | Memphis, Tennessee in 1931, and then to Chicago in 1938; he | 8 | | attended Forrestville Elementary School and was president of | 9 | | the 1945 graduating class at DuSable High School; he received a | 10 | | bachelor's degree in political science from the University of | 11 | | Illinois in 1948 and then a law degree from Harvard Law School | 12 | | in 1951; after law school, he was commissioned as a lieutenant | 13 | | in the Army and served in the Pacific Theater during the Korean | 14 | | War; while in Japan, he met Hiroko Ogawa; they married in Japan | 15 | | in 1953; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Bill Cousins began working as an examining | 17 | | attorney for Chicago Title & Trust Co.; he then served as an | 18 | | assistant state's attorney; in 1961, he and three other | 19 | | African-American attorneys and Harvard Law School graduates | 20 | | formed a law firm; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Bill Cousins led the Chatham-Avalon Park | 22 | | Community Council, where he worked to oppose high-rise housing |
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| 1 | | in the neighborhood; he was elected alderman in 1967 and made | 2 | | the community viable by meeting with constituents, attending | 3 | | book club meetings, and effectively communicating with | 4 | | residents; he resigned from the City Council after he was | 5 | | elected to the Cook County Circuit Court in 1976; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Bill Cousins later served on panels that | 7 | | investigated two separate, deadly fire tragedies in Chicago and | 8 | | helped make important fire safety recommendations that were | 9 | | implemented; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Bill Cousins was known as an outstanding leader, | 11 | | with thoughtful insights, who never forgot his roots; he always | 12 | | said that if you've been given a good brain and a good body, | 13 | | you have a responsibility to help those less fortunate than | 14 | | yourself; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Bill Cousins was preceded in death by his wife, | 16 | | Hiroko; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Bill Cousins is survived by his daughters, Cheryl | 18 | | Akiko Cousins and Gail Yoshiko Cousins; his sons, Yul Cousins | 19 | | and Noel Cousins; and his four grandchildren; therefore, be it
| 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 21 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of |
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| 1 | | William Cousins Jr. and extend our sincere condolences to his | 2 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 3 | | further
| 4 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 5 | | presented to the family of Bill Cousins as an expression of our | 6 | | deepest sympathy.
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