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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to
3congratulate Victory Bell of Rockford on the occasion of his
490th birthday; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Victory Bell, the son of Bea Bell and Gladys
6Thompson, was born in Durant, Mississippi on March 7, 1934; he
7and his family moved to Rockford, Illinois in 1945, where he
8attended Montague Elementary School and graduated from West
9High School in 1953; he married his wife, Carol, on November
1021, 1981, and they had six children, Jeffery, Gregory, Victor,
11Michelle, Roger, and Bradley; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Soon after graduating high school, Victory Bell
13began working at the Illinois Bell Telephone Company, starting
14as a janitor before being promoted to supply clerk in 1964 and
15material supply in 1966; he then became an installer with the
16Installation Department, and he was soon promoted to plant
17dispatcher in 1969 and then manager of installations in 1970;
18he concluded his career after 33 years of service, retiring in
191987; he later served as a manager at the Illinois Secretary of
20State Facility in Rockford; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Victory Bell began his long political career as a
22precinct committeeman in 1962, and he was active on the

 

 

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1Winnebago County Political Action Committee; he was elected to
2serve as alderman of the 5th Ward on the Rockford City Council
3in 1971, becoming the first African American to be elected
4alderman in Rockford; he served in that position for 38 years,
5and he was noted as one of the longest-serving alderpersons in
6the State; and
 
7    WHEREAS, During his tenure on the Rockford City Council,
8Victory Bell provided a strong voice for minority rights while
9preserving his calm and dignified demeanor, and he was
10credited with elevating minority ranks in Rockford's police,
11fire, and public works departments and within State boards and
12commissions; he was instrumental in promoting county board
13members, and he assisted Mayor Bob McGaw with his succeessful
14election in 1970; he was also integral in the completion of
15Central Avenue from Ogilby Road to Preston Street, linking
16southwest to northwest Rockford, in the 1980s; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Victory Bell was featured as one of the Rockford
18Register Star's 100 People of the Century in 1999; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Victory Bell is a member of the NAACP; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Victory Bell will celebrate his 90th birthday on
21March 7, 2024; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
2ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate
3Victory Bell on celebrating his 90th birthday, thank him for
4his service and dedication to the citizens of Rockford and the
5State, and wish him many more happy and healthy years; and be
6it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
8presented to Victory Bell as an expression of our esteem and
9respect.