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92_HJ0023
LRB9208595RHrhA
1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Mayor Harold Washington was born in Chicago,
3 Illinois on April 15, 1922, to Roy and Bertha Washington; and
4 WHEREAS, Mayor Harold Washington was active in politics
5 as a young man growing up on the South Side of Chicago under
6 the tutelage of his father, Attorney Roy Washington, who was
7 a leader in the Third Ward; and
8 WHEREAS, Mayor Harold Washington was drafted into the
9 United States Army in 1939 and served his country in World
10 War II as a soil technician in the Guam Theater; he earned
11 the rank of First Sergeant; and
12 WHEREAS, Mayor Harold Washington had an unquenchable
13 thirst for knowledge and a strong desire to become educated;
14 he enrolled in Roosevelt University where he became the
15 President of the Student Council in 1947 and graduated in
16 1949; he then entered Northwestern University School of Law
17 where he earned his Jurist Doctor degree; and
18 WHEREAS, Mayor Harold Washington followed the example set
19 by his father becoming active in the Third Ward Regular
20 Democratic Organization and the Third Ward Young Democrats;
21 he began a lifetime of service to the city, State, and
22 country; and
23 WHEREAS, Mayor Harold Washington served as an Assistant
24 City Attorney from 1954 to 1958; he was a member of the
25 Illinois House of Representatives from 1966 through 1976; a
26 member of the Illinois Senate from 1976 to 1980; and a member
27 of the United States House of Representatives from 1980 until
28 1983; and
29 WHEREAS, On April 22, 1983, Harold Washington was elected
30 to the Office of the Mayor of the City of Chicago, thereby
31 making him the first African-American to be elected to that
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1 position and then re-elected in 1987; his tenure in the
2 Office of the Mayor had many historical implications which
3 included the election and challenges of his administration
4 that have been the subject of numerous books, essays and
5 articles in newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals;
6 and
7 WHEREAS, Mayor Harold Washington has left a legacy of
8 programs and accomplishments that have not been surpassed and
9 some of which have been adopted nationally; and
10 WHEREAS, Mayor Harold Washington issued Executive Orders
11 and ordinances that became models for the country's urban
12 cities, including advisory commissions on the affairs of
13 Latinos, Women, and Asians; ordinances on affirmative action
14 in employment and procurement, tenants rights, campaign
15 finance reform, freedom of information, and South African
16 divestiture; and
17 WHEREAS, Mayor Harold Washington issued the first general
18 obligation bonds to be used for the redevelopment of the City
19 of Chicago's neighborhoods aging infrastructure; and
20 WHEREAS, Mayor Harold Washington promulgated a linked
21 development program that required development dollars to be
22 spent in the neighborhoods when they are spent in the central
23 business district; and
24 WHEREAS, As Chairman of the United States Conference of
25 Mayors, he put forth an agenda for the re-development of the
26 inner cities, beginning a national dialogue on race
27 relations; and
28 WHEREAS, In June of 1983 Mayor Harold Washington
29 organized the first parade held in honor of veterans of the
30 Vietnam War and a national newspaper article stated, "The
31 image of Mayor Harold Washington and General Westmoreland in
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1 the reviewing stand, saluting the Vietnam War veterans of all
2 races, genders, and nationalities was a sight to behold"; and
3 WHEREAS, Mayor Harold Washington instituted a public
4 policy and practice of fairness and equality for all of the
5 citizens and communities; this attitude was made clear in his
6 first inaugural address on April 29, 1983, when he said, "I
7 hope to be remembered by history as the Mayor who cared about
8 people and who was above all, fair"; and
9 WHEREAS, Mayor Harold Washington dies tragically and
10 suddenly in office on November 21, 1987, leaving the entire
11 City of Chicago overcome with grief for many days; therefore,
12 be it
13 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
15 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we declare April 15, 2001, as
16 Harold Washington United States Commemorative Stamp Day, and
17 urge all citizens of Illinois to be aware of the
18 contributions of Mayor Harold Washington and to write to the
19 United States Postal Service Citizens' Stamp Advisory
20 Committee urging them to issue a commemorative stamp in honor
21 of Mayor Harold Washington; and be it further
22 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be sent
23 to the United States Postal Service Citizens' Stamp Advisory
24 Committee, to the President of the United States, and to each
25 member of the Illinois congressional delegation.