Full Text of SR0058 94th General Assembly
SR0058 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
SR0058 |
|
LRB094 10799 CSA 41273 r |
|
| 1 |
| SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, Earl L. Neal, the legendary condemnation lawyer | 3 |
| who served as trusted confidant to Mayors' Daley, Bilandic, | 4 |
| Byrne, Washington, Sawyer, and Daley passed away February 13, | 5 |
| 2005; and
| 6 |
| WHEREAS, Earl Neal was a giant of the legal profession, an | 7 |
| outstanding educational and civic leader, and a friend and | 8 |
| counselor to every Chicago mayor of the last 50 years; he could | 9 |
| be counted on to provide wise guidance and leadership; Chicago | 10 |
| is a better city because of Earl Neal's contributions in so | 11 |
| many areas of its civic life; and
| 12 |
| WHEREAS, Though they never bear his name, just about every | 13 |
| major public works project built in Chicago in the last 50 | 14 |
| years - including the Dan Ryan Expressway, the University of | 15 |
| Illinois at Chicago, the United Center, U.S. Cellular Field, | 16 |
| the Midway Airport expansion, and the current effort to expand | 17 |
| O'Hare - could not have happened without Earl Neal | 18 |
| quarterbacking the sometimes unenviable task of clearing a | 19 |
| path; and
| 20 |
| WHEREAS, The son of Chicago attorney Earl James Neal and | 21 |
| Evelyn Neal, a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools, Earl | 22 |
| Langdon Neal was born in Chicago on April 16, 1928; he | 23 |
| graduated from Englewood High School in 1945 and received his | 24 |
| B.A. from the University of Illinois in 1949 and his J.D. from | 25 |
| Michigan Law School in 1952; and
| 26 |
| WHEREAS, Following his graduation from law school, Earl | 27 |
| Neal served briefly in the U.S. Army; in 1955, he joined his | 28 |
| father's law firm, Neal & Neal; in 1960, Mr. Neal began working | 29 |
| with the Chicago city government and later that year was | 30 |
| appointed assistant corporation counsel; in 1962, he accepted | 31 |
| the responsibility as principal of his father's law firm after |
|
|
|
SR0058 |
- 2 - |
LRB094 10799 CSA 41273 r |
|
| 1 |
| his father was appointed judge; in 1968, he formed his own | 2 |
| firm, Earl L. Neal and Associates, and continued to handle | 3 |
| trial work for the City of Chicago and other public agencies; | 4 |
| and
| 5 |
| WHEREAS, In 1975, he was elected President of the | 6 |
| University of Illinois Board of Trustees; his election made him | 7 |
| the first African-American trustee in the United States; in | 8 |
| 1995, Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed him Chairman of the | 9 |
| Chicago/Gary Regional Airport Authority; and
| 10 |
| WHEREAS, He was the recipient of a host of honors and | 11 |
| awards, including the Robert S. Abbott Memorial Award, the | 12 |
| Justice John Paul Stevens Award, and the Defender of Justice | 13 |
| Award; his community work included membership in the Chicago | 14 |
| Urban League, the NAACP, and co-chairmanship of the Teachers | 15 |
| Academy for Mathematics and Science; and
| 16 |
| WHEREAS, He had a breath of quality so rarely possessed by | 17 |
| one individual; he epitomized the qualities of a gentleman; | 18 |
| humor, principal, courage and compassion, intelligence and | 19 |
| humility, and love for his fellow human beings; he loved the | 20 |
| City of Chicago and its citizens and will be remembered for | 21 |
| what "he gave back" to others who followed; and
| 22 |
| WHEREAS, He married Isobel Hoskins Neal on September 24, | 23 |
| 1955 and shared his life with his partner for 49 years; his | 24 |
| son, Langdon Neal, serves as chairman of the Chicago Board of | 25 |
| Election Commissioners; and
| 26 |
| WHEREAS, He spent his leisure time yachting from Florida to | 27 |
| the Caribbean to the Carolinas and Lake Michigan and doting on | 28 |
| his four grandchildren; therefore, be it
| 29 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 30 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of |
|
|
|
SR0058 |
- 3 - |
LRB094 10799 CSA 41273 r |
|
| 1 |
| Earl L. Neal and extend our sincerest condolences to his | 2 |
| family, friends, and community; and be it further
| 3 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 4 |
| presented to his family as an expression of our deepest | 5 |
| sympathy.
|
|