093_HR0078
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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, In 1983, former State Representative Anthony
3 Young was informed of an offer he couldn't refuse; Coy Pugh
4 offered to volunteer for Representative Young for six days,
5 at the end of which time he would promise to afford Coy lunch
6 money and car fare for the next 60 days, finally if Coy's
7 efforts added to the growth of the organization, he would
8 place him on the payroll; after the first 30 days, Coy was
9 hired as Representative Young's administrative assistant; and
10 WHEREAS, In 1985, Coy Pugh became the Executive Director
11 of the Westside Small Business Development Center (WSBDC),
12 which was a member of the small business development center
13 program designed by the State of Illinois' Department of
14 Commerce and Community Affairs under the Build Illinois Act,
15 put in place by then Governor James Thompson; WSBDC offered
16 technical assistance to small business owners, entrepreneurs,
17 and perspective business owners by designing, developing, and
18 implementing seminars and workshops focusing on the needs of
19 the small businessperson; and
20 WHEREAS, By 1989, the WSBDC joined forces and Coy Pugh
21 became the Director of a coalition of 40 community based
22 organizations known as Austin United, the project was funded
23 by a large coalition of businesses known as Chicago United;
24 and
25 WHEREAS, Coy Pugh was appointed to the House of
26 Representatives in 1991; in 1992 after an intensely contested
27 and bitter campaign, he won the Democratic nomination for
28 State Representative in the 10th District with the
29 community's overwhelming support; news of his improbable win
30 spread throughout the country and was featured in national
31 publications such as Ebony and the National Enquirer; and
32 WHEREAS, As State Representative, Coy championed a move
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1 to abolish the death penalty in Illinois, where he
2 successfully adopted House Resolution 60, which resulted in
3 Governor George Ryan calling for a moratorium on executions
4 in Illinois; in addition to serving on numerous House
5 committees, Representative Pugh served as the Chairman of the
6 Revenue Committee; and
7 WHEREAS, Coy holds a Masters' Degree in Theological
8 Studies from the University of Chicago's McCormick
9 Theological Seminary; he has traveled to Israel and has met
10 with former head of state Prime Minister Netanyahu and has
11 worked with Brazil's political leadership; he has traveled
12 extensively in West Africa and participated in a trade
13 mission to the Republic of South Africa developing trade and
14 business opportunities with the heads of state in those
15 countries; he also served as the Pastor of West Englewood
16 Church on Chicago's south side and Olivet United Methodist
17 church on the city's west side; and
18 WHEREAS, After serving in the Illinois State Legislature
19 four consecutive terms, in January 2002 Coy started his own
20 lobbying practice combining his collective experience to
21 promote the interests of community based civil rights
22 organizations along with Northwestern University law
23 professors and families of individuals wrongly convicted and
24 sentenced to death; to date, with the efforts of these
25 individuals including the local media (Tribune), several
26 individuals sentenced to death have been released and others
27 had their death sentences commuted, resulting in a clearing
28 out of Death Row; and
29 WHEREAS, Coy currently works for individuals facing
30 possible convictions that may result in the death penalty, as
31 a mitigator for the Cook County Public Defenders Office as he
32 continues his fight for justice, equity, and the abolition of
33 the death penalty; therefore, be it
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1 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3 we thank Coy Pugh for his dedicated service to the people and
4 the State of Illinois; and be it further
5 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6 presented to Coy Pugh as an expression of our esteem.