HR0846LRB098 20265 MST 55656 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, State Representative Monique D. Davis and the
3Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate
4civil rights trailblazer Thomas N. Todd on being honored by
5Chicago State University; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was one of the first African-American
7United States attorneys hired in Chicago in 1967; he
8established the nations's first Office of Civil Rights within
9the U.S. Attorney's office in 1969; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Thomas Todd made history in 1968 by filing the
11first criminal case against a Chicago Police officer for
12deprivation of an individual's civil rights, and that same
13year, he helped establish the Afro-American Patrolman's
14League; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was the first full-time
16African-American professor hired at Northwestern University's
17School of Law, where he taught from 1970-1974; he also served
18as President of the Chicago Chapter of the Southern Christian
19Leadership Conference in 1971; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Thomas Todd co-founded Operation PUSH in 1971 and
21created its name - People United to Serve Humanity; he served

 

 

HR0846- 2 -LRB098 20265 MST 55656 r

1as its first Vice-President under President Jesse Jackson and
2was acting President from 1983-1984; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was the legal advisor behind the
4historic campaigns of key African-American Chicago
5politicians, from U.S. Rep. Ralph Metcalfe to the late Chicago
6Mayor Harold Washington; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was born in Demopolis, Alabama on
8September 24, 1938; he graduated from high school at age 15,
9received his bachelor's degree in political science from
10Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1959, and
11graduated magna cum laude from law school in 1963; he then
12entered the United States Army to serve as a Judge Advocate
13General Corp Officer from 1964-1967; he and his wife of 47
14years, Janis, have 2 daughters; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was the keynote speaker at a Chicago
16State University ceremony celebrating his donation of an
17extensive collection of documents and memorabilia to the school
18that spans his 50 years as a civil rights trailblazer;
19therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
22we congratulate Thomas N. Todd on being honored by Chicago

 

 

HR0846- 3 -LRB098 20265 MST 55656 r

1State University for his career in the advancement of civil
2rights and wish him the best in all his future endeavors; and
3be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5presented to Thomas Todd as an expression of our esteem and
6respect.