HR0667 LRB095 12969 GRL 38604 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Ellis E.
4 Reid III of Chicago, who passed away on August 7, 2007; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Ellis E. Reid III was born in Bronzeville and grew
6 up in Woodlawn and Park Manor; he graduated from Englewood High
7 School, then attended the University of Illinois at
8 Urbana-Champaign, where he received his bachelor's degree in
9 1956; and he received his law degree from the University of
10 Chicago Law School in 1959; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Ellis E. Reid III was a well-known and respected
12 attorney and judge throughout the Chicago area; he successfully
13 prosecuted the case against former State's Attorney Edward
14 Hanrahan and police officers accused of wrongdoing in a raid
15 that left two Black Panthers dead; in 1970, he successfully
16 argued in federal court to overturn a Chicago ordinance which
17 prevented women from making drinks unless they had a liquor
18 license or were related to someone who did; he served as a
19 judge in the Cook County Circuit Court's 1st Municipal District
20 in Chicago from 1985 to 2000; he also served as a Justice in
21 the Illinois Appellate Court, 1st District, 5th Division from
22 2000 to 2004, serving as the court's presiding justice from
23 2004 to 2005; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Ellis E. Reid III also represented various
2 organizations; among them, he served as General Counsel to
3 Local 453 of the United Auto Workers, AFL-CIO from 1960 to
4 1972; he served as General Counsel to Local 1006 of the
5 American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees,
6 AFL-CIO from 1976 to 1983; and he was a member of and served as
7 long-time General Counsel to the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity,
8 Inc.; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Ellis E. Reid III was involved with many law-based
10 organizations, including the Illinois Judges Association, the
11 Appellate Lawyers Association, the National Bar Association,
12 the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Chicago Inn of
13 Court; he was a former President of the Illinois Judicial
14 Council; and he was a former President of the Cook County Bar
15 Association, the first African-American bar association in the
16 country; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Ellis E. Reid III had an intense love of the law
18 and had an interest in mentoring young law students; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Ellis E. Reid III is by survived his wife, Sheila;
20 his sons, Ellis E. Reid IV and David Reid; his daughter,
21 Noelle; his siblings, Betty Baugh, Virginia Nichols, and Harry
22 Reid; and his four grandchildren; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
3 mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Ellis
4 E. Reid III; and be it further
 
5     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6 presented to the family of Ellis E. Reid III as an expression
7 of our sympathy.