Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0858
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Full Text of HR0858  103rd General Assembly

HR0858 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 


 
HR0858LRB103 41219 LAW 74436 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to recognize the life of John Briggs, the
4first Black hotel owner of the City of Rockford; and
 
5    WHEREAS, John Briggs was born in Augusta, Georgia on April
618, 1894; he served in the U.S. Army during World War I;
7following his military service, he eventually settled in
8Rockford, Illinois, where he became a distinguished hotel and
9resort business owner, a community builder, and a guiding
10light for African-American businesses; and
 
11    WHEREAS, John Briggs was the owner of the Briggs Hotel on
12629 Court Street in Rockford from 1938 to 1959, and his hotel
13became known as the first home to many African Americans
14migrating from the south to Rockford; his hotel also gained
15the distinction of being listed in The Negro Motorist
16Green-Book, an annual, national guidebook that assisted Black
17travelers with finding hospitable locations and businesses
18during the era of Jim Crow laws; and
 
19    WHEREAS, John Briggs achieved success in other
20entrepreneurial ventures; he owned and operated The Briggs
21Mounds resort at Lake Koshkonong in Wisconsin and Club Morocco
22at Briggs Farms in Rockford, where he hosted the well-regarded

 

 

HR0858- 2 -LRB103 41219 LAW 74436 r

1Briggs Picnics; he was also a distinguished member of the
2Booker Washington Community Center; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Over the course of his professional life, John
4Briggs made outstanding contributions to the African-American
5community of Rockford and was regarded as a local leader known
6for his commitment to advancing and helping others; he passed
7away on April 24, 1959; and
 
8    WHEREAS, John Briggs' legacy has been and continues to be
9celebrated by the City of Rockford, which previously
10proclaimed the month of April 2021 as John Briggs Month and
11also declared a John Briggs Day, and his impact was further
12immortalized with the official renaming of a portion of Court
13Street as John Briggs Way by the Rockford City Council in
14February 2024; therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
16HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
17we recognize the life of John Briggs, the first Black hotel
18owner of the City of Rockford, and his impact on and historical
19significance to the Rockford community; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21presented to the great-great-niece of John Briggs, Dr. Brandi
22DeShawn Brown, as an expression of our esteem and respect.