Full Text of HR0764 097th General Assembly
HR0764 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of
Don | 4 | | Cornelius, who passed away on February 1, 2012; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Don Cornelius was born on September 27, 1936, in | 6 | | Chicago, and was raised in the Bronzeville neighborhood; after | 7 | | graduating from DuSable High School in 1954, he joined the | 8 | | United States Marine Corps, where he served for 18 months in | 9 | | Korea; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, After his stint in the military, Don Cornelius | 11 | | worked at various jobs, including selling tires, automobiles, | 12 | | and insurance, and as an officer with the Chicago Police | 13 | | Department; he also married his high school sweetheart, Delores | 14 | | Harrison, during this time; in 1966, he quit his day job to | 15 | | take a 3-month broadcasting course; that same year, he landed a | 16 | | job as an announcer, news reporter, and disc jockey on Chicago | 17 | | radio station WVON; in 1967, he joined Chicago television | 18 | | station WCIU-TV and hosted a news program called "A Black's | 19 | | View of the News"; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Don Cornelius was best known as the creator of the | 21 | | nationally-syndicated dance/music franchise "Soul Train"; in | 22 | | 1969, he launched "Soul Train" on WCIU-TV as a daily local |
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| 1 | | show; the program entered national syndication and moved to Los | 2 | | Angeles the following year; he served as the host of the | 3 | | popular program from 1971 to 1993; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Through his show, Don Cornelius introduced many | 5 | | African-American musicians to a larger audience; as writer, | 6 | | producer, and host of "Soul Train", he was instrumental in | 7 | | offering wider exposure to such musicians as James Brown, | 8 | | Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson, as well as creating | 9 | | opportunities for talented dancers that would inspire | 10 | | subsequent television dance programs; at its peak, "Soul Train" | 11 | | was watched in over 105 cities throughout the United States and | 12 | | reached over 85% of African-American households; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, In addition to his work on "Soul Train", Don | 14 | | Cornelius was the driving force behind the creation of the Soul | 15 | | Train Music Awards in 1987 and the Lady of Soul Awards in 1995; | 16 | | and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Don Cornelius is survived by his sons, Anthony and | 18 | | Raymond; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 20 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 21 | | we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Don | 22 | | Cornelius; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | presented to the family of Don Cornelius as an expression of | 3 | | our sympathy.
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