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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, State Representative Monique D. Davis and the | ||||||
3 | Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate | ||||||
4 | civil rights trailblazer Thomas N. Todd on being honored by | ||||||
5 | Chicago State University; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was one of the first African-American | ||||||
7 | United States attorneys hired in Chicago in 1967; he | ||||||
8 | established the nations's first Office of Civil Rights within | ||||||
9 | the U.S. Attorney's office in 1969; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Thomas Todd made history in 1968 by filing the | ||||||
11 | first criminal case against a Chicago Police officer for | ||||||
12 | deprivation of an individual's civil rights, and that same | ||||||
13 | year, he helped establish the Afro-American Patrolman's | ||||||
14 | League; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was the first full-time | ||||||
16 | African-American professor hired at Northwestern University's | ||||||
17 | School of Law, where he taught from 1970-1974; he also served | ||||||
18 | as President of the Chicago Chapter of the Southern Christian | ||||||
19 | Leadership Conference in 1971; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, Thomas Todd co-founded Operation PUSH in 1971 and | ||||||
21 | created its name - People United to Serve Humanity; he served |
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1 | as its first Vice-President under President Jesse Jackson and | ||||||
2 | was acting President from 1983-1984; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was the legal advisor behind the | ||||||
4 | historic campaigns of key African-American Chicago | ||||||
5 | politicians, from U.S. Rep. Ralph Metcalfe to the late Chicago | ||||||
6 | Mayor Harold Washington; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was born in Demopolis, Alabama on | ||||||
8 | September 24, 1938; he graduated from high school at age 15, | ||||||
9 | received his bachelor's degree in political science from | ||||||
10 | Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1959, and | ||||||
11 | graduated magna cum laude from law school in 1963; he then | ||||||
12 | entered the United States Army to serve as a Judge Advocate | ||||||
13 | General Corp Officer from 1964-1967; he and his wife of 47 | ||||||
14 | years, Janis, have 2 daughters; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was the keynote speaker at a Chicago | ||||||
16 | State University ceremony celebrating his donation of an | ||||||
17 | extensive collection of documents and memorabilia to the school | ||||||
18 | that spans his 50 years as a civil rights trailblazer; | ||||||
19 | therefore, be it
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20 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
21 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
22 | we congratulate Thomas N. Todd on being honored by Chicago |
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1 | State University for his career in the advancement of civil | ||||||
2 | rights and wish him the best in all his future endeavors; and | ||||||
3 | be it further
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4 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
5 | presented to Thomas Todd as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
6 | respect.
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