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92_SR0314
LRB9215733RHrh
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate would like to
3 express their sincere condolences to the family and friends
4 of A. Abbot Rosen, of Chicago, Illinois, who passed away
5 recently; and
6 WHEREAS, Mr. Rosen moved to Chicago in 1948 to become
7 director of the Anti-Defamation League's Midwest region, a
8 position he held for 38 years; during the late 1970s, Mr.
9 Rosen's commitment to fighting discrimination and hate helped
10 lead a confrontation with a neo-Nazi group that planned to
11 march in Skokie, Illinois; Skokie was then home to one of the
12 largest communities of Holocaust survivors; Mr. Rosen's
13 unwavering leadership and judgement throughout the crisis
14 were greatly needed for it was a time of high tension and
15 passion; he was later portrayed by Carl Reiner in a
16 made-for-television movie based on the planned rally; and
17 WHEREAS, Mr. Rosen was born in New York City in 1915, and
18 graduated from Yale College and the Colombia University Law
19 School in 1937; he then went on to work in the Justice
20 Department's espionage and sabotage unit, where he prosecuted
21 German spies and saboteurs; shortly thereafter, Mr. Rosen was
22 drafted into the Army and served in France and Belgium; after
23 the Army, he served as special assistant to the attorney
24 general prosecuting war-fraud cases; in 1947, he became a
25 member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations, acting
26 as legal advisor to the UN special committee that drafted the
27 genocide treaty; and
28 WHEREAS, Mr. Rosen became active in the civil rights
29 movement when he was hired under President Harry Truman in
30 1947 as the U.S. Justice Department's first civil rights
31 section chief; during the 1960s, Mr. Rosen was involved in
32 organizing Soldier Field civil rights rallies where Martin
33 Luther King, Jr. spoke; he was awarded the Chicago Commission
-2- LRB9215733RHrh
1 on Human Relations' Thomas H. Wright Award for his
2 professional leadership as well as Loyola University's
3 Founder's Day Award for his community service; and
4 WHEREAS, The passing of A. Abbot Rosen will be greatly
5 felt by all those who knew him and loved him, especially his
6 wife of over fifty years, Charlotte; his son, Josh; his
7 daughter, Julie Beth; and his sister, Carolyne Maimin;
8 therefore, be it
9 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
10 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing
11 of A. Abbot Rosen and extend our sympathies to his family and
12 friends at this time; and be it further
13 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
14 presented to the family of A. Abbot Rosen.