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HR0006 |
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LRB094 05797 CSA 35850 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Samuel A. Patch, a longtime aide and strategist to |
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| former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, died January 5, 2005; |
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| he was 71; and
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| WHEREAS, He was born in Chicago, the second youngest of |
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| nine children; a graduate of Englewood High School and Kentucky |
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| State University, he served in the Army and was a delegate to |
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| the 1970 Illinois Constitutional Convention and chairman of the |
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| Illinois Black Caucus in 1974; he established a friendship with |
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| Harold Washington as the two were coming up in 3rd Ward |
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| politics in the late 1950s, and later became his closest |
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| confidant; and
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| WHEREAS, He lived in Chicago's 3rd Ward for most of his |
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| life, and made a tremendous imprint there; he helped to develop |
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| many of the innovative, creative programs of then-Alderman |
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| Ralph Metcalfe that sought to improve the quality of life for |
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| young people; and
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| WHEREAS, Although he never fully retired from politics, he |
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| established Balton Corporation, a successful national |
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| wholesale distribution business that specializes in paper and |
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| janitorial products and restaurant supplies; despite his full |
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| schedule, family was his top priority; and
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| WHEREAS, He was an avid Bears fan; described as a serious, |
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| quiet man, he showed a different side in the football stadium; |
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| it is his quiet behind-the-scenes actions that will be missed |
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| most, especially by the city's African-American community, |
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| which has lost a political giant; he was involved in most, if |
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| not all, of the political movements of the South Side for the |
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| past 50 years; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of Samuel A. Patch will be felt by all |