Full Text of SR0959 102nd General Assembly
SR0959 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0959 | | LRB102 27169 MST 38687 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Harold Lee Washington, a native son of Chicago, | 3 | | was born on April 15, 1922 and was a product of Chicago Public | 4 | | Schools, having attended Forestville Elementary and DuSable | 5 | | High School; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, During World War II, Harold Washington served in | 7 | | the United States Air Force from 1942 to 1946; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Harold Washington received his Bachelor of Arts | 9 | | from Roosevelt University in 1949, where he served as | 10 | | president of the Student Council and was a highly respected | 11 | | student leader; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Harold Washington was the secretary of the Third | 13 | | Ward Regular Democratic Organization for Alderman Ralph | 14 | | Metcalfe and helped to organize the Third Ward Young | 15 | | Democrats, which became one of the leading Young Democratic | 16 | | organizations in the State of Illinois;; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Harold Washington received his Juris Doctorate | 18 | | from Northwestern University Law School in 1952 and was | 19 | | admitted to the Bar in 1953; he served as an assistant city | 20 | | prosecutor in Chicago from 1954 to 1958 and as arbitrator for | 21 | | the Illinois Industrial Commission from 1960 to 1964; and |
| | | SR0959 | - 2 - | LRB102 27169 MST 38687 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Harold Washington was elected to the Illinois | 2 | | House of Representatives in 1965, where he served with | 3 | | distinction until his election to the Illinois Senate in 1977; | 4 | | and | 5 | | WHEREAS, While in the General Assembly, Harold Washington | 6 | | was the first legislator in the nation to organize a Black | 7 | | Legislative Caucus and to successfully pass a bill | 8 | | commemorating a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; | 9 | | and | 10 | | WHEREAS, In 1980, Harold Washington was elected to the | 11 | | United States Congress and served on three House Committees, | 12 | | which was unprecedented for a freshman congressman; he was the | 13 | | leader in securing a 10-year extension of the Voting Rights | 14 | | Act; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In 1983, Harold Washington was drafted by the | 16 | | community to run for the office of mayor of the City of | 17 | | Chicago, and he conducted a campaign in which his extensive | 18 | | vocabulary sent even the most articulate Chicago journalist | 19 | | running for the dictionary; he won the election with a diverse | 20 | | coalition of support; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, As mayor of the City of Chicago, Harold |
| | | SR0959 | - 3 - | LRB102 27169 MST 38687 r |
|
| 1 | | Washington accomplished many positive achievements, including | 2 | | reducing the widespread practice of political patronage, | 3 | | establishing a functioning affirmative action program for | 4 | | minority business, creating a women's affairs commission and a | 5 | | viable sister cities program, and several other initiatives, | 6 | | which improved all sections of the Chicago community; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Harold Washington was truly the people's mayor, | 8 | | and his memory is cherished by multitudes of ordinary citizens | 9 | | in Chicago and throughout the world; therefore, be it
| 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 11 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare April 15, | 12 | | 2022 as "Harold Washington Day" in the State of Illinois; and | 13 | | be it further
| 14 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 | | presented to the family of Harold Washington as a token of our | 16 | | respect and esteem.
|
|