HR0809 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0809 LRB097 20627 KXB 66444 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute is honoring Alexander Lane, the first African-American male student at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, who enrolled in 1876; and

WHEREAS, Historian Pamela Smoot's research on Lane's life began at SIU-Carbondale's Morris Library and included trips to Chicago, Springfield, and Mississippi; the research shows that Lane was born into slavery in pre-Civil War Mississippi and later migrated to Illinois as a young boy, where he was taken in by a southern Illinois farming family who helped assure he had the opportunity to gain an education at what was then Southern Illinois Normal University; and

WHEREAS, Alexander Lane served as the first principal of Carbondale's East Side School for Negroes, which later became Attucks School; and

WHEREAS, Alexander Lane married the former Isabelle Holland, who also attended SIU-Carbondale, and together they had one son before moving to Chicago in the early 1890s in order to attend Rush Medical College, from which he graduated in 1895; and

WHEREAS, Alexander Lane was appointed assistant physician of Cook County and had a private practice at 1937 S. Archer Avenue in Chicago; he entered politics in 1906 by running for and winning a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives as a Republican, where he became the ninth African-American elected to the Illinois General Assembly; he was reelected in 1908 and served until his death in November 1911; and

WHEREAS, To honor his legacy, the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute has established the Alexander Lane Internship Program to foster civic engagement opportunities for students at Southern Illinois University to work with members of the Illinois General Assembly and the Legislative Black Caucus; and

WHEREAS, Alexander Lane was a trailblazer for first generation college students, the disadvantaged, African-Americans in education, medicine, public health, public service, and elected politics, and African-American State legislators; and

WHEREAS, The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute is hosting a Black History Month event at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago on Monday, February 27, 2012 to honor Alexander Lane and his many accomplishments; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we designate February 27, 2012 as "Alexander Lane Day" in the State of Illinois in honor of the Honorable Dr. Alexander M. Lane and his legacy of high achievement against significant challenges; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Alexander Lane as a symbol of our esteem and respect of their revered ancestor and to the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in tribute to its dedication to the telling of the Alexander Lane story.