Full Text of HR1476 99th General Assembly
HR1476 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of James K. | 4 | | Polk of Peoria, who passed away on November 8, 2016; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, James Polk was born in Memphis, Tennessee to | 6 | | Charlie and Nellie (Jones) Polk on June 13, 1939; he moved to | 7 | | Peoria in 1943 and graduated from Peoria High School in 1957, | 8 | | where he was an All-State basketball player; he attended | 9 | | community college and married Virginia Kyle, Patricia Stokes, | 10 | | and Patti; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, James Polk worked for General Motors in California | 12 | | from 1961 to 1967; after returning to Peoria, he worked for | 13 | | CILCO and ran the YWCA Ashanti Umojia Youth Center before | 14 | | joining Caterpillar in 1974; he retired from Caterpillar in | 15 | | 1986 and founded several businesses, including the Balance | 16 | | Stone Strategies Group; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, James Polk was a member of the Peoria County Board | 18 | | from 1972 to 1976 and from 1982 to 1985; he was a Peoria City | 19 | | Councilman for the First District from 1985 to 1993; he was the | 20 | | first African American to run and win those positions; he | 21 | | served on the Illinois Central College Board of Trustees, | 22 | | beginning in 1997 with eight years in leadership positions; he |
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| 1 | | served on the Board of Trustees Greater Peoria Mass | 2 | | Transit-City Link from 2007 to just recently; he was on the | 3 | | Tri-County Regional Planning Commission for 10 years, serving | 4 | | as past Chairman; he was involved with Illinois Central | 5 | | College, CityLink, the Peoria Civic Center Authority, the Boys & | 6 | | Girls Clubs of America, the American Community College | 7 | | Trustee Association, and the Tri-County Regional Planning | 8 | | Commission; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, James Polk helped Carol Moseley Braun in her | 10 | | election to the United States Senate as the first black female | 11 | | senator, serving as downstate Chairman for her United States | 12 | | Senate campaign; he was twice elected to the National | 13 | | Democratic Convention and served as a consultant to Chicago | 14 | | Mayor Harold Washington; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, James Polk was a recipient of the 2015 Peoria Area | 16 | | Chamber of Commerce Tom Connor Service Award, the 2015 Peoria | 17 | | Magazines Local Legends, and the 2006 Dr. Martin Luther King | 18 | | Commemorative Service Leadership Award; in 2014, he was | 19 | | inducted into the African American Hall of Fame; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, James Polk was a member of the Mt. Zion Baptist | 21 | | Church, the Peoria Downtown Rotary Club, and the NAACP, where | 22 | | he served as Vice-President; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, James Polk was preceded in death by his son, Kevin | 2 | | Polk; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, James Polk is survived by his wife of 17 years, | 4 | | Patti; his children, Karen (Billy) Raymond, Jonelle (Daniel) | 5 | | McCloud, and Rebecca Polk; his stepchildren, Anika (Henry) | 6 | | Florez, and Joshua (Gina) Sterling; his brother, Sam (Jean) | 7 | | Polk; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren; | 8 | | therefore, be it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 10 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 11 | | mourn the passing of James K. Polk, and extend our sincere | 12 | | condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved | 13 | | him; and be it further
| 14 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 | | presented to the family of James Polk as an expression of our | 16 | | deepest sympathy.
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