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90_HR0099
LRB9005536KBkb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives were saddened to hear of the death of former
4 United States Representative from Illinois Charles A. Hayes;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, Charles Hayes was a resident of Chicago's
7 Chatham neighborhood; at the time of his death he was working
8 as a patient advocate with Doctor's Hospital in Hyde Park;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, Charles Hayes began a history of working with
11 unions when, in 1938, he organized a strike by black workers
12 of a hardwood flooring company in Cairo, Illinois; as a
13 result of the six week old strike, a union was established
14 that white workers within the factory later joined; and
15 WHEREAS, In the early 1940's, Charles Hayes worked for
16 Wilson & Co. meatpackers; Mr. Hayes was elected chairman of
17 the grievance committee by his fellow workers; as a result of
18 this position, Mr. Hayes later served as the international
19 vice president of the United Food & Commercial Workers,
20 which, at the time, was the largest union in the nation; and
21 WHEREAS, Charles Hayes was active in the civil rights
22 movement of the 1960's; as a supporter of Dr. Martin Luther
23 King, Jr., Mr. Hayes organized support for the 1956
24 Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott, the March on Washington in
25 August of 1963, and the 1966 campaign to open up housing for
26 all in Chicago; and
27 WHEREAS, Charles Hayes served as chairman of the
28 Committee to Elect a Black Mayor in the 1970's; Mr. Hayes led
29 the support for both Ralph Metcalfe and Harold Washington to
30 be elected to the United States Congress; Mr. Hayes later
31 helped Harold Washington win the election for Mayor of
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1 Chicago; and
2 WHEREAS, With the support of Mayor Harold Washington, Mr.
3 Hayes was elected to the United States Congress in 1983;
4 while serving as a United States Representative, Mr. Hayes
5 was arrested for picketing the South African Embassy in
6 Washington, D.C., along with several other members of
7 Congress; Mr. Hayes helped to change the United States public
8 opinion against South Africa's racist apartheid views and
9 policies; and
10 WHEREAS, When Charles Hayes was elected to the United
11 States Congress he served there from 1983 until 1993; Mr.
12 Hayes was the only elected union official when he began his
13 time of service to the United States Congress; and
14 WHEREAS, Charles A. Hayes is survived by his two loving
15 daughters Barbara Delaney and Charlene Smith; his five
16 sisters Maxine McShan, Doris Branch, Freda Barksdale, Vivian
17 Robinson, and Helen; his two brothers Ralph and Frederick;
18 four grandchildren and two great grandchildren; therefore, be
19 it
20 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21 NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
22 mourn, along with his family and friends, the death of former
23 United States Representative Charles A. Hayes of Chicago,
24 Illinois; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
26 presented to the family of Charles A. Hayes.