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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Earl L. Neal, the legendary condemnation lawyer
3 who served as trusted confidant to Mayors' Daley, Bilandic,
4 Byrne, Washington, Sawyer, and Daley passed away February 13,
5 2005; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Earl Neal was a giant of the legal profession, an
7 outstanding educational and civic leader, and a friend and
8 counselor to every Chicago mayor of the last 50 years; he could
9 be counted on to provide wise guidance and leadership; Chicago
10 is a better city because of Earl Neal's contributions in so
11 many areas of its civic life; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Though they never bear his name, just about every
13 major public works project built in Chicago in the last 50
14 years - including the Dan Ryan Expressway, the University of
15 Illinois at Chicago, the United Center, U.S. Cellular Field,
16 the Midway Airport expansion, and the current effort to expand
17 O'Hare - could not have happened without Earl Neal
18 quarterbacking the sometimes unenviable task of clearing a
19 path; and
 
20     WHEREAS, The son of Chicago attorney Earl James Neal and
21 Evelyn Neal, a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools, Earl
22 Langdon Neal was born in Chicago on April 16, 1928; he
23 graduated from Englewood High School in 1945 and received his
24 B.A. from the University of Illinois in 1949 and his J.D. from
25 Michigan Law School in 1952; and
 
26     WHEREAS, Following his graduation from law school, Earl
27 Neal served briefly in the U.S. Army; in 1955, he joined his
28 father's law firm, Neal & Neal; in 1960, Mr. Neal began working
29 with the Chicago city government and later that year was
30 appointed assistant corporation counsel; in 1962, he accepted
31 the responsibility as principal of his father's law firm after

 

 

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1 his father was appointed judge; in 1968, he formed his own
2 firm, Earl L. Neal and Associates, and continued to handle
3 trial work for the City of Chicago and other public agencies;
4 and
 
5     WHEREAS, In 1975, he was elected President of the
6 University of Illinois Board of Trustees; his election made him
7 the first African-American trustee in the United States; in
8 1995, Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed him Chairman of the
9 Chicago/Gary Regional Airport Authority; and
 
10     WHEREAS, He was the recipient of a host of honors and
11 awards, including the Robert S. Abbott Memorial Award, the
12 Justice John Paul Stevens Award, and the Defender of Justice
13 Award; his community work included membership in the Chicago
14 Urban League, the NAACP, and co-chairmanship of the Teachers
15 Academy for Mathematics and Science; and
 
16     WHEREAS, He had a breath of quality so rarely possessed by
17 one individual; he epitomized the qualities of a gentleman;
18 humor, principal, courage and compassion, intelligence and
19 humility, and love for his fellow human beings; he loved the
20 City of Chicago and its citizens and will be remembered for
21 what "he gave back" to others who followed; and
 
22     WHEREAS, He married Isobel Hoskins Neal on September 24,
23 1955 and shared his life with his partner for 49 years; his
24 son, Langdon Neal, serves as chairman of the Chicago Board of
25 Election Commissioners; and
 
26     WHEREAS, He spent his leisure time yachting from Florida to
27 the Caribbean to the Carolinas and Lake Michigan and doting on
28 his four grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
29     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL
30 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of

 

 

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1 Earl L. Neal and extend our sincerest condolences to his
2 family, friends, and community; and be it further
 
3     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4 presented to his family as an expression of our deepest
5 sympathy.