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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to honor the life and accomplishments of | ||||||
| 4 | Bishop Louis Henry Ford; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Louis Ford was born on May 23, 1914 in Clarksdale, | ||||||
| 6 | Mississippi; he married Margaret Little in December of 1934; | ||||||
| 7 | they had 2 children, Charles and Janet; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Louis Ford founded St. Paul Church Of God in | ||||||
| 9 | Christ in May of 1935; in the fall of 1941, he purchased Clarke | ||||||
| 10 | House, Chicago's oldest house, on 4526 South Wabash, which | ||||||
| 11 | served as St. Paul's church until 1945, when a new structure | ||||||
| 12 | was built and dedicated at 4528 South Wabash; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Starting in 1935, the work of St. Paul's Church Of | ||||||
| 14 | God in Christ Community Service Outreach Ministries, ably led | ||||||
| 15 | by Louis Ford, was intensified; its members led the fight to | ||||||
| 16 | increase minority presence on police and fire departments, | ||||||
| 17 | improve housing, and create other employment opportunities; in | ||||||
| 18 | 1955, he served as a spiritual advisor to Mamie Till Moseley, | ||||||
| 19 | the mother of Emmett Till, and delivered the eulogy "Vengeance | ||||||
| 20 | Is Mine" at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ; in 1966, he | ||||||
| 21 | organized buses for members and community residents to attend | ||||||
| 22 | the civil rights rally at Soldier Field where Dr. Martin Luther | ||||||
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| 1 | King, Jr. spoke; and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, From 1977 to 1979, Louis Ford served as a board | ||||||
| 3 | member of the Cook County Jail Department of Corrections; as a | ||||||
| 4 | board member, he was a strong proponent of job training | ||||||
| 5 | programs for inmates and a vocal supporter of Director Winston | ||||||
| 6 | Moore; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, From 1990 to 1995, Louis Ford served as Presiding | ||||||
| 8 | Bishop of Church of God in Christ, Inc.; during this time, he | ||||||
| 9 | was also named annually one of Ebony Magazine's 100 most | ||||||
| 10 | influential African-Americans; in 1992, he invited | ||||||
| 11 | then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton to address the COGIC Spring | ||||||
| 12 | Meeting and Convocation in Memphis, Tennessee; in December of | ||||||
| 13 | 1994, he was invited to stay overnight in the Lincoln Room of | ||||||
| 14 | the White House as a guest of President and Mrs. Clinton; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Louis Ford passed away on March 31, 1995; in July | ||||||
| 16 | of 1996, the Calumet Expressway on Interstate 94 was renamed in | ||||||
| 17 | honor of him for his work in his community and society at | ||||||
| 18 | large; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Louis Ford served as a model of hard work, | ||||||
| 20 | integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of | ||||||
| 21 | Illinois; therefore, be it
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| 1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 2 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 3 | we honor the life and accomplishments of Bishop Louis Henry | ||||||
| 4 | Ford; and be it further
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| 5 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 6 | presented to the family of Louis Ford as a symbol of our esteem | ||||||
| 7 | and respect.
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