HR0836 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0836 LRB096 18389 GRL 33766 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Wesley South, who passed away on January 9, 2010; and

WHEREAS, Wesley South was born on March 23, 1914, in Muskogee, Oklahoma; his parents were Dr. Elijah and Mayme South; and

WHEREAS, Wesley South and his family moved to Chicago in 1924; he received his primary and secondary education in the Chicago Public School system and graduated from Englewood High School; and

WHEREAS, Wesley South served his country with pride and distinction as a member of the U.S. Army for 2 years during World War II; after leaving the service, he enrolled at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism; and

WHEREAS, In 1951, Wesley South was hired by The Chicago Defender; in December of 1951, he joined the editorial staff of the Johnson Publishing Company, where he worked for nearly 6 years; he also worked for the Chicago American and the Chicago Daily News; and

WHEREAS, In 1961, while working as a columnist and doing public relations work for the NAACP, Wesley South was approached by a local radio executive, who asked Mr. South to host his own show; in 1962, Leonard and Phil Chess of Chess Records bought the station and changed the call letters to WVON; 2 years later, Mr. South began his popular program, Hotline; and

WHEREAS, During Hotline's 16-year run, Wesley South interviewed such luminaries as Presidents John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter, jazz great Duke Ellington, baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson, and civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers; in 1979, he became a part owner of WVON; and

WHEREAS, Wesley South was an active member of his community, serving in various capacities with the NAACP, The Chicago Urban League, and Operation Breadbasket; he also played major roles in the political campaigns of Mayor Harold Washington, Congressman Gus Savage, and former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun, as well as the elections of his daughter, Leslie, to the Circuit Court of Cook County and the Illinois Appellate Court; and

WHEREAS, Wesley South was preceded in death by his wife, Mildred; and

WHEREAS, Wesley South is survived by his daughter, Leslie South; his son-in-law, Arthur Jackson; and his grandson, Wesley Jackson; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Wesley South; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Wesley South as an expression of our sympathy.