SR0959 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0959 LRB102 27169 MST 38687 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Harold Lee Washington, a native son of Chicago, was born on April 15, 1922 and was a product of Chicago Public Schools, having attended Forestville Elementary and DuSable High School; and

WHEREAS, During World War II, Harold Washington served in the United States Air Force from 1942 to 1946; and

WHEREAS, Harold Washington received his Bachelor of Arts from Roosevelt University in 1949, where he served as president of the Student Council and was a highly respected student leader; and

WHEREAS, Harold Washington was the secretary of the Third Ward Regular Democratic Organization for Alderman Ralph Metcalfe and helped to organize the Third Ward Young Democrats, which became one of the leading Young Democratic organizations in the State of Illinois;; and

WHEREAS, Harold Washington received his Juris Doctorate from Northwestern University Law School in 1952 and was admitted to the Bar in 1953; he served as an assistant city prosecutor in Chicago from 1954 to 1958 and as arbitrator for the Illinois Industrial Commission from 1960 to 1964; and

WHEREAS, Harold Washington was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1965, where he served with distinction until his election to the Illinois Senate in 1977; and

WHEREAS, While in the General Assembly, Harold Washington was the first legislator in the nation to organize a Black Legislative Caucus and to successfully pass a bill commemorating a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; and

WHEREAS, In 1980, Harold Washington was elected to the United States Congress and served on three House Committees, which was unprecedented for a freshman congressman; he was the leader in securing a 10-year extension of the Voting Rights Act; and

WHEREAS, In 1983, Harold Washington was drafted by the community to run for the office of mayor of the City of Chicago, and he conducted a campaign in which his extensive vocabulary sent even the most articulate Chicago journalist running for the dictionary; he won the election with a diverse coalition of support; and

WHEREAS, As mayor of the City of Chicago, Harold Washington accomplished many positive achievements, including reducing the widespread practice of political patronage, establishing a functioning affirmative action program for minority business, creating a women's affairs commission and a viable sister cities program, and several other initiatives, which improved all sections of the Chicago community; and

WHEREAS, Harold Washington was truly the people's mayor, and his memory is cherished by multitudes of ordinary citizens in Chicago and throughout the world; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare April 15, 2022 as "Harold Washington Day" in the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Harold Washington as a token of our respect and esteem.