HR0846 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0846 LRB098 20265 MST 55656 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, State Representative Monique D. Davis and the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate civil rights trailblazer Thomas N. Todd on being honored by Chicago State University; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was one of the first African-American United States attorneys hired in Chicago in 1967; he established the nations's first Office of Civil Rights within the U.S. Attorney's office in 1969; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Todd made history in 1968 by filing the first criminal case against a Chicago Police officer for deprivation of an individual's civil rights, and that same year, he helped establish the Afro-American Patrolman's League; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was the first full-time African-American professor hired at Northwestern University's School of Law, where he taught from 1970-1974; he also served as President of the Chicago Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1971; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Todd co-founded Operation PUSH in 1971 and created its name - People United to Serve Humanity; he served as its first Vice-President under President Jesse Jackson and was acting President from 1983-1984; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was the legal advisor behind the historic campaigns of key African-American Chicago politicians, from U.S. Rep. Ralph Metcalfe to the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was born in Demopolis, Alabama on September 24, 1938; he graduated from high school at age 15, received his bachelor's degree in political science from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1959, and graduated magna cum laude from law school in 1963; he then entered the United States Army to serve as a Judge Advocate General Corp Officer from 1964-1967; he and his wife of 47 years, Janis, have 2 daughters; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Todd was the keynote speaker at a Chicago State University ceremony celebrating his donation of an extensive collection of documents and memorabilia to the school that spans his 50 years as a civil rights trailblazer; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Thomas N. Todd on being honored by Chicago State University for his career in the advancement of civil rights and wish him the best in all his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Thomas Todd as an expression of our esteem and respect.