SR1625 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1625 LRB099 20969 MST 45935 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of James "Major" Adams of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, James Adams was born on January 5, 1922 and raised on the Westside of Chicago; he graduated from Crane High School in 1939 and served in Europe during World War II; and

WHEREAS, After World War II, James Adams worked for various agencies, including Jane Adams' Hull House; he moved into Henry Horner Housing Development in 1955 and began providing gang intervention and prevention programs as a volunteer, then later as an employee, of the Henry Horner Boys & Girls Club; due in part to his efforts, the Henry Horner Boys & Girls Club became the first Boys & Girls Club built in a housing development in the United States; he and other community residents created a drill team which later became the Hornets Drum & Bugle Corps, a nationally renowned 120-member, paramilitary style band composed of young people and troubled youth ages 14 to 21; and

WHEREAS, From 1959 through 1962, James Adams, with the assistance of the Chicago Area Project, established and developed the Youth Services Committee of the Westside, a grass-roots, voluntary, community-based organization to address the rising juvenile delinquency cases in the neighborhood; he helped provide direct services and advocated on behalf of the youth and families with schools, courts, the Chicago Police Department, and other institutions; he initiated community organizing and development efforts aimed at improving the quality of life for neighborhood residents; and

WHEREAS, James Adams created the community's first re-entry program for ex-felons; he recruited the Salvation Army to provide daily breakfast and lunches and Mile Square Health Center and Bobby Wright Mental Health to provide medical services; during the 1970s and 1980s, he assisted the leadership of Malcolm X in recruiting and increasing student enrollment, developing the community/college music program, and promoting summer youth sports and academic initiatives; he led the Malcolm X College Kwanzaa program for youth residing in the Henry Horner Homes from 1993 to 1996; and

WHEREAS, James Adams worked with local businesses, including Rush University to provide job opportunities; he created the original midnight basketball program to keep young men off the streets during prime crime spree hours; his counseling and mentoring aided in reducing the rate of recidivism and his work with Nancy Jefferson and Congressman Danny Davis led to many programs assisting ex-felons; and

WHEREAS, James Adams' work has influenced many notable individuals such as Warner Saunders (NBC 5 News Anchor), Reginald "Hats" Adams, Maurice and Verdine White (Earth, Wind & Fire), Dr. Steven Parker, Dr. Vaughn Tatum, Sonny Lumpkin, City College Chancellor Cheryl Hyman, Howard Lathan, Boyse Edwards, Keith Jackson, Arthur Robertson (Founder of the South Shore Drill Team), Bill Freeman; and many other notable leaders; and

WHEREAS, James Adams was a recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including the 1996 Shule Ya Watolo Award, the 1998 National Jefferson Award/Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Public Service Award, the 2012 President Volunteer Services Award, and the 2013 Governor's Volunteer Award; he continued to actively serve families of the greater Westside late into his life; and

WHEREAS, James Adams' work will continue through the agency he founded in 1996, the Major Adams Community Committee (MACC), which along with countless others will keep his vision alive of "Empowering Youth and Families"; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of James "Major" Adams, and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of James Adams as an expression of our deepest sympathy.