Full Text of HR0959 101st General Assembly
HR0959 101ST 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 James | 4 | | Michael "Mike" Mills of Murphysboro, who passed away on | 5 | | December 29, 2020; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Mike Mills was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri to | 7 | | Faye and Leon Mills on July 15, 1941; he graduated from | 8 | | Murphysboro Township High School, where he was a member of the | 9 | | 1958 Hall of Fame football team; he graduated from the first | 10 | | class of Dental Technology at Southern Illinois University; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Mike Mills founded the Murphysboro Dental Lab in | 12 | | 1963; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Mike Mills opened 17th Street Barbecue in 1985; he | 14 | | was later called the "most-revered barbecue restaurateur in | 15 | | America"; he was the barbecue guru at, and a partner in, the | 16 | | Blue Smoke restaurant in New York City and a founding partner | 17 | | in Memphis Championship Barbecue in Las Vegas; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Mike Mills earned the moniker "The Legend" in the | 19 | | early 1990s, when he was co-captain of the Apple City Barbecue | 20 | | team, one of the most celebrated teams ever on the circuit; he | 21 | | is known throughout the State of Illinois, the United States, |
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| 1 | | and the world for his legendary barbecue pit master skills; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Mike Mills is the co-author of two books, Peace, | 3 | | Love, and Barbecue and Praise the Lard: Recipes and Revelations | 4 | | from a Legendary Life in Barbecue; he was inducted into the | 5 | | Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2010; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Mike Mills was an active member in numerous | 7 | | community organizations, including the Elks, Masons, and | 8 | | Shriners; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Mike Mills was named a Distinguished Alumni in | 10 | | 2014 by Murphysboro Township High School; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Mike Mills was a beloved figure in Southern | 12 | | Illinois, employing hard-working Illinoisans at his | 13 | | restaurants and giving to charity and to his community; his | 14 | | years of dedicated work helped earn his hometown, Murphysboro, | 15 | | the distinction of being named the BBQ Capital of
Illinois in | 16 | | 2015 by the Illinois General Assembly; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Mike Mills was preceded in death by his siblings, | 18 | | Robert Mills and Jeanette Hudgins; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Mike is survived by his children, Amy Jane Mills | 20 | | and Christopher Mills; his grandchildren, Guy W. (Woody) |
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| 1 | | Tunnicliffe III and Faye Landess Tunnicliffe; his siblings, | 2 | | Landess Mills and Mary Pat Mills; his brother-in-law, John | 3 | | Hudgins; and numerous nieces and nephews; therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 5 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 6 | | we mourn the death and celebrate the life, the contributions, | 7 | | the achievements, and the positive impact that James Michael | 8 | | "Mike" Mills had on the communities of Murphysboro and Marion; | 9 | | and be it further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 11 | | presented to the family of Mike Mills and to 17th Street BBQ | 12 | | Restaurants in Marion and in Murphysboro as symbols of our | 13 | | deepest sympathy.
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