SR0307 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0307 LRB096 13151 GRL 27701 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Allen "Bo" Price of Evanston, who passed away on May 1, 2009; and

WHEREAS, Allen "Bo" Price was a lifelong resident of Evanston; he grew up on Darrow Avenue as one of the ten children in his family; and

WHEREAS, Allen "Bo" Price, along with five of his brothers, was drafted during World War II; he joined the U.S. Army in 1943 and fought in Europe from D-Day to VE-Day; he was one of seven African-Americans featured in the 2007 documentary, "A Distant Shore: African-Americans of D-Day"; he remained an advocate for veterans' rights for the remainder of his life, ensuring that wreaths were laid on the graves of local soldiers every Memorial Day; and

WHEREAS, Allen "Bo" Price was employed with the Illinois Highway Department and spent decades as a shoe repairman in Glenview; he also made a life with the Snell Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the young people he served at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center; and

WHEREAS, Allen "Bo" Price founded the Evanston Vanguards Rifle and Drill Team in 1947; he was also an accomplished drill team instructor, taking hundreds of local drill team members around the country to compete against the nation's top contenders; under his direction, the drill teams won numerous State and national titles; he also began two drum and bugle corps; in total, he trained more than 2,000 girls and boys; and

WHEREAS, Allen "Bo" Price was a co-founder of the Council of Elders Pops and Moms (COE-POPS), a group that helped discourage gang involvement in the 1980s; he was president of the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center advisory board and effectively pushed to improve, renovate, and expand the facility and add more programs to engage young people; he was a founding member and former commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars William B. Snell Post #7186 and a fixture as emcee of Veterans Day and Memorial Day programs at Fountain Square; and

WHEREAS, In 1998, Allen "Bo" Price had an honorary street named for him, Allen "Bo" Price Drive, in honor of his dedication to helping young people at Foster Field and the Foster Community Center, later renamed Fleetwood-Jourdain; in 2006, the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Theatre saluted him with a play titled "Honoring a Living Legend: The Life and Times of Allen 'Bo' Price"; and

WHEREAS, Allen "Bo" Price will be remembered by all who knew and loved him as an intensely patriotic and caring man; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Allen "Bo" Price; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Allen "Bo" Price as an expression of our sympathy.