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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Henry | ||||||
| 4 | Irving Thomas Jr., who passed away on January 27, 2018; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Henry Thomas Jr. was born in Chicago to Henry Sr. | ||||||
| 6 | and Gloria (Ward) Thomas on April 5, 1953; he was raised on the | ||||||
| 7 | South Side and attended Harlan High School, where he was a star | ||||||
| 8 | basketball player; one of his greatest accomplishments was when | ||||||
| 9 | the basketball team beat DuSable to win the Chicago City | ||||||
| 10 | Championship in 1970; he attended Bradley University on a full | ||||||
| 11 | basketball scholarship; he graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of | ||||||
| 12 | Science in Accounting, and he then attended DePaul University, | ||||||
| 13 | where he received his Juris Doctor and Legum Magister in | ||||||
| 14 | Taxation; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Henry Thomas Jr. worked as a specialist with | ||||||
| 16 | Cooper & Lybrand, now PricewaterhouseCoopers, for several | ||||||
| 17 | years; while at DePaul on a teaching fellowship, he created the | ||||||
| 18 | school's first sports law course, which he taught for 23 years; | ||||||
| 19 | he joined the Chicago law firm Carney & Brothers, Ltd. in 1984; | ||||||
| 20 | there, he signed his first client, Tim Hardaway; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, In 1989, Thomas Henry Jr. formed his own | ||||||
| 22 | management company, Thomas Sports Management (TSM); his | ||||||
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| 1 | clients included NBA players Lindsay Hunter, Michael Finley, | ||||||
| 2 | Donnie Boyce, Anthony Parker and Charles Smith; in 2002, he | ||||||
| 3 | sold TSM to Collegiate Sports Management Group (CSMG), and in | ||||||
| 4 | his first year, signed Tim James, Marcus Fizer, Bobbi Simmons, | ||||||
| 5 | Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, Dee Brown, and Ronnie | ||||||
| 6 | Brewer; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, In 2009, Henry Thomas Jr. joined entertainment and | ||||||
| 8 | sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), where he was | ||||||
| 9 | instrumental in building the foundation of its basketball group | ||||||
| 10 | and establishing the agency's presence in Chicago; in addition | ||||||
| 11 | to adding TJ Warren, DeAndre Liggins, and Manny Harris, he also | ||||||
| 12 | managed the increasing demands of two of the "Big 3" Miami Heat | ||||||
| 13 | Players; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Henry Thomas Jr. had the ability to connect with | ||||||
| 15 | athletes on a personal level, which made him effective and | ||||||
| 16 | beloved; he remained close to his Harlan High School roots and | ||||||
| 17 | his 95th Street community; in 2011, he spearheaded the effort | ||||||
| 18 | to refurbish the gym floor at Harlan High school, which | ||||||
| 19 | commemorated the 40th anniversary of the City Championship win; | ||||||
| 20 | the new floor was named after his high school coach and mentor, | ||||||
| 21 | Lee Umbles; and
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| 22 | WHEREAS, Henry Thomas Jr. is survived by his wife, Susan; | ||||||
| 23 | his daughters, Hillary and Jaye; his son, Ryan; his sister, | ||||||
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| 1 | Sharon (Douglas); his niece, Lindsay (Andy); and his grandniece | ||||||
| 2 | Rilyn; therefore, be it
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| 3 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 4 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 5 | mourn the passing of Henry Irving Thomas Jr. and extend our | ||||||
| 6 | sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew | ||||||
| 7 | and loved him; and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to the family of Henry Thomas Jr. as an expression of | ||||||
| 10 | our deepest sympathy.
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