HR1162 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1162 LRB097 21848 GRL 70540 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Roger E. Walker Jr., who passed away on March 10, 2012; and

WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. was born on February 7, 1949 in Brownsville, Tennessee; he was the son of Roger E. Walker Sr. and Ida (Currie) Walker Lake; he married Vergie Eubanks on August 28, 1971; and

WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. was educated in Decatur public schools and was a graduate of Richland Community College; he also had over 2,000 hours of law enforcement training; and

WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. served our country with pride and distinction as a member of the United States Navy; and

WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. began his distinguished law enforcement career in the Decatur area as a patrol officer with the Macon County Sheriff's Department in 1972; he steadily ascended the ranks at the department to become patrol sergeant, detective, and lieutenant; in 1998, he was elected to serve as the Sheriff of Macon County, being the first African-American sheriff in the State of Illinois; he sought re-election in 2002 and ran unopposed; on May 1, 2003, he was appointed to serve as the Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections by Governor Rod Blagojevich; and

WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. was a member of the Main Street Church of the Living God under the leadership of his brother, Overseer Thomas E. Walker; he was also a part of the church's music ministry, where he played the saxophone; and

WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. was a member of numerous community and professional organizations; he served as Vice-President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives' Land of Lincoln Chapter and Decatur Chapter Frontiers International and was a member of the Black Chamber of Commerce, the NABCJ-Greater Illinois Area Chapter, the Illinois Sheriffs Association, the National Sheriffs Association, the Executive Board of Youth With A Positive Direction, the NAACP, Unit #99/FOP Lodge #144, the African-American Cultural and Genealogical Society of Illinois Inc., the State of Illinois Child Advocacy Board, the Illinois State Advisory Board/Fight Crime: Invest In Kids, and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board; and

WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. was preceded in death by his wife; his father; his grandparents; and his aunts, uncles, and cousins; and

WHEREAS, Roger Walker Jr. is survived by his mother, Ida Walker Lake; his daughters, Robin Ketchens and Tammie (Rick) Shaw; his brothers, Overseer Thomas E. (Margaret) Walker, Arthur Lee (Terri) Walker, and Timothy Lake; his sister, Hilda Walker; his grandchildren, Courtney N. Lee, Daa'iyah Ketchens, and Marion Ketchens, Jr.; his fiancee, Debra Watson; his uncle, Horace (Dimple) Walker; his aunts, Mary Ann Boyd, Doris Lawrence, Jean (A.D.) Brooks, and Liz and Beulah Currie; his special sister, Diane Bond; his special brothers, Larry Bond and William Martin, Jr.; his special aunt, Mildred Taylor, and his many nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and his many friends at the Macon County Sheriff Department, the Illinois Department of Corrections, and the Decatur community; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Roger E. Walker Jr.; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Roger Walker Jr. as an expression of our sympathy.