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| | HR0352 | | LRB101 12319 MST 60212 r |
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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 James Lee |
| 4 | | Falls Sr., who passed away on April 19, 2019; and
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| 5 | | WHEREAS, James Falls was born in Pickens, Mississippi to |
| 6 | | Willie Allen and Izola (Woodcox) Falls on April 30, 1937; he |
| 7 | | attended Richland Vocational High School until his junior year |
| 8 | | and
completed his education at Phillips High School in Chicago |
| 9 | | in 1959; he married Leonia in 1964; and
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| 10 | | WHEREAS, From 1960 to 1977,
James Falls worked as a bus boy |
| 11 | | and later as a manager at the department store
Charles A. |
| 12 | | Stevens; in 1966, he took on a second job at night as a
janitor |
| 13 | | with the University of Chicago; after a four-year |
| 14 | | apprenticeship,
he worked as a building engineer, an |
| 15 | | opportunity only made available to
people of color years after |
| 16 | | passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; by the time he and |
| 17 | | Leonia retired in 1999, they had acquired and sold over
24 |
| 18 | | units of residential and commercial real estate; and
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| 19 | | WHEREAS, James Falls was president of the 7700 S. Cornell |
| 20 | | Block Club Association and the Stony-Jeffery Citizens for |
| 21 | | Community Control; he was an active member of the 8th Ward |
| 22 | | Regular Democratic Organization and volunteered for numerous |
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| | HR0352 | - 2 - | LRB101 12319 MST 60212 r |
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| 1 | | civic organizations; he was a member of Greater Institutional |
| 2 | | A.M.E. Church for over 50 years, where he served as an usher; |
| 3 | | and
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| 4 | | WHEREAS, James Falls enjoyed taking family road trips; he |
| 5 | | was an avid sports fan and especially enjoyed basketball, |
| 6 | | bowling, and attending his children's sporting events; and
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| 7 | | WHEREAS, James Falls was preceded in death by his parents; |
| 8 | | his
brothers, Willie Jr., Thomas, and Clarence; and his |
| 9 | | sisters, Allean,
Doris, and Ruby; and
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| 10 | | WHEREAS, James Falls is survived by his wife of 55 years, |
| 11 | | Leonia; his children, Gwendolyn (David), Rodney (Natalie), and |
| 12 | | James Jr. (Beverly); his grandchildren, Jeremy, Justin, |
| 13 | | Sydney, Jalynn, Raven, Milan, Gabrielle, and Zola; his |
| 14 | | siblings, John (Pat), Edward (Mary), Sam, Charles (Martha), |
| 15 | | Ruth (Howard), Carnear, and Homer (Dorothy); his |
| 16 | | siblings-in-law, BW, Elizabeth, Leomia (Delores), Mary, and |
| 17 | | Thomas; and a host of nieces and nephews; therefore, be it
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| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE |
| 19 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
| 20 | | we mourn the passing of James Lee Falls Sr. and extend our |
| 21 | | sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew |
| 22 | | and loved him; and be it further
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