Full Text of HR0836 96th General Assembly
HR0836 96TH 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
Wesley | 4 |
| South, who passed away on January 9, 2010; and
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| WHEREAS, Wesley South was born on March 23, 1914, in | 6 |
| Muskogee, Oklahoma; his parents were Dr. Elijah and Mayme | 7 |
| South; and
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| WHEREAS, Wesley South and his family moved to Chicago in | 9 |
| 1924; he received his primary and secondary education in the | 10 |
| Chicago Public School system and graduated from Englewood High | 11 |
| School; and
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| WHEREAS, Wesley South served his country with pride and | 13 |
| distinction as a member of the U.S. Army for 2 years during | 14 |
| World War II; after leaving the service, he enrolled at | 15 |
| Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1951, Wesley South was hired by The Chicago | 17 |
| Defender; in December of 1951, he joined the editorial staff of | 18 |
| the Johnson Publishing Company, where he worked for nearly 6 | 19 |
| years; he also worked for the Chicago American and the Chicago | 20 |
| Daily News; and |
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| WHEREAS, In 1961, while working as a columnist and doing | 2 |
| public relations work for the NAACP, Wesley South was | 3 |
| approached by a local radio executive, who asked Mr. South to | 4 |
| host his own show; in 1962, Leonard and Phil Chess of Chess | 5 |
| Records bought the station and changed the call letters to | 6 |
| WVON; 2 years later, Mr. South began his popular program, | 7 |
| Hotline; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, During Hotline's 16-year run, Wesley South | 9 |
| interviewed such luminaries as Presidents John F. Kennedy and | 10 |
| Jimmy Carter, jazz great Duke Ellington, baseball pioneer | 11 |
| Jackie Robinson, and civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther | 12 |
| King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers; in 1979, he became a | 13 |
| part owner of WVON; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, Wesley South was an active member of his | 15 |
| community, serving in various capacities with the NAACP, The | 16 |
| Chicago Urban League, and Operation Breadbasket; he also played | 17 |
| major roles in the political campaigns of Mayor Harold | 18 |
| Washington, Congressman Gus Savage, and former U.S. Senator | 19 |
| Carol Moseley Braun, as well as the elections of his daughter, | 20 |
| Leslie, to the Circuit Court of Cook County and the Illinois | 21 |
| Appellate Court; and | 22 |
| WHEREAS, Wesley South was preceded in death by his wife, | 23 |
| Mildred; and |
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| WHEREAS, Wesley South is survived by his daughter, Leslie | 2 |
| South; his son-in-law, Arthur Jackson; and his grandson, Wesley | 3 |
| Jackson; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 5 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 6 |
| mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Wesley | 7 |
| South; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 |
| presented to the family of Wesley South as an expression of our | 10 |
| sympathy.
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