Full Text of SR0874 95th General Assembly
SR0874 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of
Anna R. Langford of Chicago; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford was born to Arthur and Alice | 5 |
| Riggs on October 27, 1917 in Springfield, Ohio; she was the | 6 |
| youngest of three siblings; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford was raised by her grandmother | 8 |
| after her parents died; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford moved to Chicago in 1933 to live | 10 |
| with her aunt and uncle; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford graduated from Hyde Park High | 12 |
| School and then attended the Washburn Trade School; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford started her professional career | 14 |
| as a typist in the Social Security office; she then relocated | 15 |
| to the Election Commissioner's office, where she aided in | 16 |
| setting up a permanent registration system; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford later worked for and managed the | 18 |
| old Secretary of State office on Cottage Grove Avenue in | 19 |
| Chicago; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford married Larry Langford in 1947; | 2 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford attended John Marshall Law School | 4 |
| to become an attorney; while pursuing her goal, she had a son, | 5 |
| Larry Jr., in 1952; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford moved with her family to the | 7 |
| Englewood neighborhood, integrating the 6000 block of Bishop | 8 |
| Street; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford would later join Hope | 10 |
| Presbyterian Church; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford was admitted to the Illinois Bar | 12 |
| in 1956; however, as a black attorney, she was refused office | 13 |
| space in downtown Chicago; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford set up a neighborhood practice | 15 |
| and provided legal representation to the poor on matters | 16 |
| ranging from divorce to criminal defense to bankruptcy; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford spent much of her time in the | 18 |
| 1960s providing free legal services to the residents of | 19 |
| Mississippi, under dangerous conditions, as they sought to gain |
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| voting rights; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford worked closely with Dr. Martin | 3 |
| Luther King and a young Jesse Jackson to protest segregation | 4 |
| and discrimination in Chicago; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford successfully challenged the | 6 |
| regular organization in 1971, winning the seat of Alderman of | 7 |
| the 16th Ward and becoming the first black female alderman in | 8 |
| the history of the Chicago City Council; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford went on to serve three terms and | 10 |
| was an avid supporter of Mayor Harold Washington; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford retired from the Chicago City | 12 |
| Council in 1991 but remained active in local politics, always | 13 |
| working to improve her beloved neighborhood of Englewood, where | 14 |
| she would spend the balance of her life; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford has received many humanitarian | 16 |
| and civic awards and citations during her lifetime; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford was called home to glory on | 18 |
| September 17, 2008; and
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| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford was preceded in death by her |
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| parents, Arthur and Alice Riggs, and her husband, Larry | 2 |
| Langford; and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, Anna R. Langford is survived by her son, Lawrence | 4 |
| W. Langford Jr., her grandchildren, Michael, Leslie, and Kris | 5 |
| Hicks, her step grandson, Richard Pegue, her daughter-in-law, | 6 |
| Marguerita, her great-grandson, Christopher; her niece, Cheryl | 7 |
| Williams; her nephew, Arlester Jones; and her long-time | 8 |
| friends, Nanny Ryan, Lillian Merrill, and Grace Edwards; | 9 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 11 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 12 |
| her family and friends, the passing of Anna R. Langford; and be | 13 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 |
| presented to the family of Anna R. Langford as an expression of | 16 |
| our sympathy.
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