SR0464 LRB096 14667 KXB 29612 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of William J. Adelman of Oak Park, who
4 passed away on September 15, 2009; and
 
5     WHEREAS, He was born on the West Side of Chicago and was a
6 graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School in Oak Park;
7 he received a Bachelor's degree in history from Elmhurst
8 College in 1955 and a Master's degree in American history from
9 the University of Chicago in 1964; and
 
10     WHEREAS, He taught at Jefferson Junior High School in
11 Berwyn in the late 1950s and later Morton West High School in
12 Berwyn; from 1966 to 1991 he taught labor and industrial
13 relations at the University of Illinois at Chicago and later
14 became a professor emeritus at the University's Institute of
15 Labor and Industrial Relations; and
 
16     WHEREAS, William J. Adelman was not only a fierce advocate
17 for the labor movement at the ground level, but also a devoted
18 historian and a preserver of its legacy; indeed, as a renowned
19 labor expert, he was known as "the people's scholar" because of
20 his passion for wanting to teach as many people as possible
21 about the labor movement, its virtues, and its relevance today;
22 and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, He authored many books on the labor movement in
2 Chicago, including Touring Pullman, Haymarket Revisited, and
3 Pilsen and the West Side; he also helped write and research
4 films, including Packingtown, USA; and he was the narrator of
5 the 1983 documentary about the Pullman Strike of 1894, entitled
6 Palace Cars and Paradise: The Pullman Model Town; and
 
7     WHEREAS, William J. Adelman is survived by his sons, Marc
8 and Michael; his daughters, Michelle, Marguerite, and Jessica;
9 his life partner, David Staley; his ex-wife, Nora; his sister,
10 Sandra Walsh; and his five grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
11     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
12 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
13 his family and friends, the passing of William J. Adelman; and
14 be it further
 
15     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16 presented to the family of William J. Adelman as a symbol of
17 our sincere sympathy.