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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Harold Lee Washington, a native son of Chicago,
3was born on April 15, 1922; he was a product of Chicago Public
4Schools, having attended Forestville Elementary and DuSable
5High Schools; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Harold Washington served in the United States
7Army Air Forces from 1942 to 1946; he served in the Pacific
8Theater during World War II; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In 1949, Harold Washington received his
10bachelor's degree from Roosevelt University, where he served
11as president of the Student Council and joined the Upsilon
12Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.; he was a
13highly respected student leader; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Harold Washington served as the secretary of the
15Third Ward Regular Democratic Organization for Alderman Ralph
16Metcalfe and helped to organize the Third Ward Young
17Democrats, which became one of the leading Young Democratic
18organizations in the State of Illinois; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Harold Washington received his Juris Doctor from
20Northwestern University Law School in 1952 and was admitted to
21the bar in 1953; he later served as an assistant city

 

 

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1prosecutor in Chicago from 1954 to 1958 and as an arbitrator
2for the Illinois Industrial Commission from 1960 to 1964; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Harold Washington was elected to the Illinois
4House of Representatives in 1965, where he served with
5distinction until he was elected to the Illinois Senate in
61977; and
 
7    WHEREAS, During his tenure in the General Assembly, Harold
8Washington was the first legislator in the nation to organize
9a Black Legislative Caucus and to successfully pass a bill
10commemorating a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.;
11and
 
12    WHEREAS, In 1980, Harold Washington was elected to the
13United States Congress; during his time in Congress, he served
14on three House Committees, an unprecedented number for a
15freshman congressman; he also led the effort to secure a
1610-year extension of the Voting Rights Act; and
 
17    WHEREAS, In 1983, Harold Washington was drafted by his
18community to run for the office of mayor of the City of
19Chicago; his campaign will be especially remembered for his
20use of an extensive vocabulary and his victory with a diverse
21coalition of support; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, As mayor, Harold Washington accomplished many
2positive things, including reducing the widespread practice of
3political patronage, establishing a functioning affirmative
4action program for minority businesses, and creating a women's
5affairs commission, a viable sister cities program, and
6several other initiatives, which improved all sections of the
7Chicago community; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Harold Washington was truly "the People's Mayor";
9therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
11HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
12we recognize the life of Harold Washington, African American
13lawyer and politician who served as the 51st Mayor of Chicago,
14at the time of what would have been his 100th birthday and
15honor this great man and his many political and personal
16accomplishments.