Full Text of HR0801 100th General Assembly
HR0801 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, George N. Leighton is one of the most | 3 | | distinguished citizens of Illinois; he served in the army | 4 | | during the Second World War, became a renowned civil rights | 5 | | lawyer, and earned further respect as a federal judge; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, George Leighton was born to immigrant parents in | 7 | | Massachusetts, grew up in poverty, worked with his parents in | 8 | | cranberry bogs, and was unable to attend high school; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Despite not having graduated high school, George | 10 | | Leighton earned a scholarship to college and attended Howard | 11 | | University, where he studied history; he then earned admission | 12 | | and a scholarship to Harvard Law School; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, When the United States entered the Second World | 14 | | War, George Leighton entered service as an ROTC Second | 15 | | Lieutenant in the segregated 93rd Infantry Division of the | 16 | | Army, serving as a logistics officer in the Pacific campaign; | 17 | | he earned a Bronze Star and was discharged with the rank of | 18 | | Captain in 1945; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Upon returning home after the war, George Leighton | 20 | | returned to Harvard Law, completed his degree, passed the bar, | 21 | | and moved to Chicago in 1946; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, As a criminal defense lawyer in Chicago, George | 2 | | Leighton took on key civil rights cases in a number of areas, | 3 | | including voting rights, school desegregation, and housing | 4 | | integration; in 1951, he founded a predominantly African | 5 | | American law firm that became one of the largest such firms in | 6 | | the country; in 1952, he became the president of the Chicago | 7 | | branch of the NAACP; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, George Leighton was elected as a Cook County | 9 | | Circuit Court judge in 1964 and served as one of the few | 10 | | African American judges in the county; he was the first African | 11 | | American judge appointed to the Illinois Appellate Court, and | 12 | | he served ten years as a U.S. District Court judge, retiring at | 13 | | the age of 74; he then continued practicing law; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, George Leighton, now aged 105, wishes to be buried | 15 | | as a soldier in Arlington National Cemetery; however, Arlington | 16 | | National Cemetery has strict regulations for allowing burial, | 17 | | such that a candidate must have served 20 years active duty, | 18 | | been a prisoner of war, earned a Purple Heart, Silver Star, or | 19 | | higher decoration, or died while on active duty; waivers may be | 20 | | granted by the Secretary of the Army, or, in special cases, the | 21 | | Secretary of Defense or the President of the United States; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, The Veterans Caucus of the Chicago City Council |
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| 1 | | plans to introduce a resolution urging the federal government | 2 | | to grant George Leighton's request, and Senator Richard Durbin | 3 | | has recently joined this effort by announcing his support and | 4 | | pledging to help in any way he can; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, George Leighton has honorably served the United | 6 | | States and the State of Illinois as a soldier during the Second | 7 | | World War, a staunch promoter of civil rights, and as a pioneer | 8 | | judge; therefore, be it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 10 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 11 | | support Senator Durbin and the Veterans Caucus of the Chicago | 12 | | City Council in this effort, and we urge the federal government | 13 | | to grant George N. Leighton's request to be buried in Arlington | 14 | | National Cemetery; and be it further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 16 | | delivered to Senator Richard Durbin, the Secretary of the Army, | 17 | | the Secretary of Defense, and the President of the United | 18 | | States.
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