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92_HR1085
LRB9218286KFkf
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that Justice
3 William Cousins, Jr. has announced his retirement as Justice
4 of the Illinois Appellate Court; and
5 WHEREAS, Justice Cousins was born on October 6, 1927 in
6 Swiftown, Mississippi; he graduated from DuSable High School
7 in Chicago in 1945, the University of Illinois in 1948 with
8 honors in Political Science, and Harvard Law School in 1951;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, He served in the United States Army from 1951
11 through 1953 and was a Combat Infantry 2nd and 1st Lieutenant
12 in Korea; he retired in 1976 from the United States Army
13 Reserve Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel (JAGC); and
14 WHEREAS, He was an attorney with Chicago Title and Trust
15 Company from 1953 through 1957, an Assistant State's Attorney
16 of Cook County from 1957 through 1961, and an attorney in
17 private practice from 1961 through 1976; he was Alderman of
18 the 8th Ward of the City of Chicago from 1967 through 1976;
19 and
20 WHEREAS, He served as a Circuit Court Judge of Cook
21 County from 1976 until his election in 1992 to the Illinois
22 Appellate Court; his tenure on the Illinois Appellate Court
23 has included service as Chairman of the Executive Committee,
24 First Appellate District, Presiding Justice of the First
25 District, 3rd Division and 2nd Division, and Chair for the
26 Illinois Appellate Judges Annual Meeting; he has served by
27 appointment of the Illinois Supreme Court as a member of the
28 Executive Committee of the Illinois Judicial Conference and
29 he has served as a member of the Special Supreme Court
30 Committee on Capital Cases; and
31 WHEREAS, He is a member and former Chairman of the
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1 Illinois Judicial Council and is a former board member of the
2 Illinois Judges Association; he served as a board member of
3 the National Center for State Courts and as Chair of the
4 Judicial Council of the National Bar Association; and
5 WHEREAS, He is a former board member of the Citizens'
6 Schools Committee, Parkway Community House, and the Chicago
7 Area Planned Parenthood Association; he is past president of
8 Chatham-Avalon Park Community Council and a founding member
9 and former board member of PUSH; he is a Deacon at Lincoln
10 Memorial Congregational United Church of Christ and he was an
11 Assistant Moderator and former member of the Executive
12 Council of the United Church of Christ; he is a member of
13 Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity; and
14 WHEREAS, Justice Cousins has received numerous awards,
15 including the William R. Ming Award from the Cook County Bar
16 Association, the Edward N. Wright Award from the Cook County
17 Bar Association; the Bulletin Newspaper Award; the
18 Olive-Harvey College Award; the Outstanding Judge Award from
19 the John Marshall Black Law Students' Association on two
20 occasions; the Thurgood Marshall Award from the
21 IIT/Chicago-Kent Black Law Students' Association; the Kenneth
22 E. Wilson Award from the Illinois Judicial Council; the
23 Monarch Statesmanship Award from the Alpha Kappa Alpha
24 Sorority, XI NU Omega Chapter; the Irma Kingsley Johnson
25 Distinguished Service Award from the Chicago Friends of the
26 Amistad Research Center; the Earl Burrus Dickerson Award from
27 the Chicago Bar Association; the Raymond Pace Alexander Award
28 from the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association;
29 the Mary Herrick Lifetime Achievement Award as a DuSable
30 Alumnus who has dedicated his life to Justice, American
31 Jurisprudence, and his community; the C. Francis Stradford
32 Award from the Cook County State's Attorney for dedication
33 and commitment to the legal profession, the criminal justice
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1 system, and the African-American community; the Illinois
2 State Bar Association's Access to Justice Award for his
3 extraordinary efforts to preserve access to justice; and the
4 Illinois Judicial Council's Charles A. Freeman Pioneer in
5 Justice Award; and
6 WHEREAS, He has been inducted into the DuSable High
7 School Hall of Fame, the National Bar Association Hall of
8 Fame, and the Cook County Bar Association Hall of Fame; and
9 WHEREAS, He is a member of the National, American,
10 Illinois State, Chicago, and Cook County Bar Associations and
11 the American Judicature Society; and
12 WHEREAS, He and his wife Hiroko are the proud parents of
13 Cheryl, Noel, Yul, and Gail; therefore, be it
14 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
16 we extend our heartfelt thanks to Justice William Cousins,
17 Jr., upon the occasion of his retirement as Justice of the
18 Illinois Appellate Court, for his many years of distinguished
19 service to our judiciary, community, and country and we wish
20 him success and happiness in all of his future endeavors; and
21 be it further
22 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
23 presented to Justice William Cousins, Jr. as an expression of
24 our respect and esteem.