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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | ||||||
| 3 | learn of the death of James K. Polk of Peoria, who passed away | ||||||
| 4 | on November 8, 2016; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, James Polk was born in Memphis, Tennessee to | ||||||
| 6 | Charlie and Nellie (Jones) Polk on June 13, 1939; he married | ||||||
| 7 | Virginia Kyle, Patricia Stokes, and then Patti; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, For more than 50 years, James Polk demonstrated a | ||||||
| 9 | passion for bringing people together to create substantive | ||||||
| 10 | solutions that dealt with issues such as neighborhood | ||||||
| 11 | development and involvement, economic development, social | ||||||
| 12 | services, diversity, and civil rights; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, James Polk was a Peoria County Board member from | ||||||
| 14 | 1972 to 1976 and from 1982 to 1985, and Peoria City Councilman | ||||||
| 15 | for the First District from 1985 to 1993, the first African | ||||||
| 16 | American to be elected to those positions; he served on the | ||||||
| 17 | Illinois Central College Board of Trustees since 1997 with | ||||||
| 18 | eight years in leadership positions; he served on the Board of | ||||||
| 19 | Trustees Greater Peoria Mass Transit-City Link since 2007; he | ||||||
| 20 | was on the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission for 10 | ||||||
| 21 | years, where he served as Chairman; he served on numerous | ||||||
| 22 | additional boards and committees; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, James Polk received the 2015 Peoria Area Chamber | ||||||
| 2 | of Commerce Tom Connor Service Award, the 2015 Peoria Magazines | ||||||
| 3 | Local Legends, and the 2006 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | ||||||
| 4 | Commemorative Service Leadership Award; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, James Polk was a member of the Mt. Zion Baptist | ||||||
| 6 | Church, the Peoria Downtown Rotary Club, and the NAACP; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, James Polk was preceded in death by his parents | ||||||
| 8 | and his son, Kevin Polk; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, James Polk is survived by his wife of 17 years, | ||||||
| 10 | Patti; his children, Karen (Billy) Raymond, Jonelle (Daniel) | ||||||
| 11 | McCloud, and Rebecca Polk; his stepchildren, Anika (Henry) | ||||||
| 12 | Florez, and Joshua (Gina) Sterling; his brother, Sam (Jean) | ||||||
| 13 | Polk; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren; | ||||||
| 14 | therefore, be it
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| 15 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 16 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
| 17 | James K. Polk, and extend our sincere condolences to his | ||||||
| 18 | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | ||||||
| 19 | further
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| 20 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
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| 1 | presented to the family of James Polk as an expression of our | ||||||
| 2 | deepest sympathy.
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