HR1159

LRB095 20674 KXB 49000 r






1

HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
2
    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
3
Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of R. Eugene 
4
Pincham of Chicago, who passed away on April 3, 2008; and

 
5
    WHEREAS, R. Eugene Pincham was born in Chicago on June 28, 
6
1924 and grew up in Alabama; he graduated from high school in 
7
1942 and later attended LeMoyne College in Memphis; he 
8
transferred to Tennessee State University in 1944 and earned a 
9
bachelor's degree in political science in 1947; and

 
10
    WHEREAS, He married Alzata C. Henry in 1948 and enrolled in 
11
Northwestern University School of Law that same year; he worked 
12
his way through school by waiting on tables at the Palmer House 
13
Hotel and shining shoes; he earned his law degree in 1951; and

 
14
    WHEREAS, He practiced law for the next 25 years; he was a 
15
brilliant criminal defense lawyer and a hero in Chicago's black 
16
neighborhoods; and
 
17
    WHEREAS, He served as both a Cook County judge and Illinois 
18
Appellate Court justice; he became a Circuit Court judge in 
19
1976 and was assigned to the Criminal Division, where he served 
20
until 1984; he then became an Appellate Court justice and 
21
resigned in 1989; and

 
 


 






HR1159
- 2 -
LRB095 20674 KXB 49000 r




1
    WHEREAS, In 1989 he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic 
2
Party nomination for president of the Cook County Board of 
3
Commissioners; he was the nominee for mayor of Chicago in the 
4
Harold Washington Party in 1991; he lost the election but 
5
carried 19 of the 50 city wards; and

 
6
    WHEREAS, After his retirement, Judge Pincham continued to 
7
practice law; he also lectured at Harvard University, 
8
Northwestern, DePaul, Notre Dame, and the University of 
9
Chicago; he was a member of the American Civil Liberties Union 
10
and a lifetime member of the NAACP; therefore, be it

 
11
    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
12
NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
13
mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Judge 
14
R. Eugene Pincham; and be it further

 
15
    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
16
presented to the family of R. Eugene Pincham as a symbol of our 
17
sympathy.