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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of John W. | ||||||
4 | Rogers, Sr. of Chicago, who passed away on January 21, 2014; | ||||||
5 | and
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6 | WHEREAS, John Rogers, Sr. was born in 1918 in Knoxville, | ||||||
7 | Tennessee; he graduated from Tilden Technical High School in | ||||||
8 | Chicago and earned his bachelor's degree in education in 1941 | ||||||
9 | from what is now Chicago State University; he earned his | ||||||
10 | pilot's license and enlisted in the United States Army Air | ||||||
11 | Forces; and
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12 | WHEREAS, John Rogers, Sr. was a member of the famed | ||||||
13 | Tuskegee Airmen during World War II; he was part of the 99th | ||||||
14 | Pursuit Squadron and was one of the original 28 airmen to go | ||||||
15 | oversees; he flew 120 missions in Europe and achieved the rank | ||||||
16 | of Captain; he was a part of a group of approximately 300 | ||||||
17 | Tuskegee Airmen to be honored with the Congressional Gold | ||||||
18 | Medal, and in January of 2012, he was part of a group that went | ||||||
19 | to the White House as a special guest of President Obama to | ||||||
20 | view the movie "Red Tails", which tells their story; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Following the war, John Rogers, Sr. attended the | ||||||
22 | University of Chicago Law School on the GI Bill; he married |
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1 | Jewel Stradford in 1946 and graduated law school in 1948; | ||||||
2 | together he and his wife started a law firm; later he joined | ||||||
3 | Earl L. Neal & Associates (now Neal & Leroy) and worked for | ||||||
4 | them from 1974 until 1977; in 1968 he met his future wife, | ||||||
5 | Gwendolyn; the couple dated for 33 years and married in 2001; | ||||||
6 | and
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7 | WHEREAS, John Rogers, Sr. was appointed an associate judge | ||||||
8 | for Cook County in May of 1977 and eventually assigned to the | ||||||
9 | Juvenile Division; he retired from the bench in 1998; in 2012, | ||||||
10 | the University of Chicago Law School named the school's | ||||||
11 | Director of Admissions office after Mr. Rogers and his first | ||||||
12 | wife; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, John Rogers, Sr. was preceded in death by his | ||||||
14 | parents and by his first wife, Jewel; and
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15 | WHEREAS, John Rogers, Sr. is survived by his wife, | ||||||
16 | Gwendolyn; his son, John W. Rogers, Jr.; and his granddaughter, | ||||||
17 | Victoria Rogers; therefore, be it
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18 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
19 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
20 | we mourn the passing of John W. Rogers, Sr., and extend our | ||||||
21 | sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew | ||||||
22 | and loved him; and be it further
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1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
2 | presented to the family of John Rogers, Sr. as an expression of | ||||||
3 | our deepest sympathy.
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