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90_HR0403
LRB9011986KBkbA
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Paul H.
4 Berger of Hyde Park, Illinois; and
5 WHEREAS, Paul Berger was a native of Dallas, Texas,
6 served as an infantry sergeant with the United States Army
7 during World War II and maintained a life-long friendship
8 with the surviving men who served with him; and
9 WHEREAS, After World War II, Paul Berger entered the
10 University of Chicago, where he earned a Master's degree in
11 social sciences in 1956, and while attending the University
12 of Chicago he savored the diversity of races and persons and
13 the intellectual ferment in the Hyde Park area of Chicago and
14 made it his home; and
15 WHEREAS, In 1955, Paul Berger ran Alderman Robert
16 Merriam's campaign for mayor; he was named by Governor Dan
17 Walker to serve on the Metropolitan Fair and Exposition
18 Authority, where he sat on the board from 1975 to 1980; he
19 served as revenue director under Mayor Harold Washington from
20 1986 to 1988; and
21 WHEREAS, From 1955 to 1967 Mr. Berger was in the
22 insurance business, becoming a member of the Million Dollar
23 Round Table; he went on to become the chairman and president
24 of the new Hyde Park Federal Savings & Loan; the business was
25 one of the first in the nation to include whites, blacks, and
26 women on its board; the savings & loan gave many minorities
27 the opportunity to secure mortgages; it also revitalized the
28 integrated neighborhood of Hyde Park; Mr. Berger retired from
29 the savings & loan in 1983, but continued to help his
30 neighborhood; and
31 WHEREAS, Paul Berger founded the Chicago Renewal Efforts
-2- LRB9011986KBkbA
1 Service Corp., Community Services and Research Corp., and
2 Hyde Park-Kenwood Development Corp.; he served as an officer
3 and director of many area groups, including the Mid-South
4 Side Health Planning Organization, Mary McDowell Settlement,
5 Southeast Chicago Commission, Gateway House Foundation, Hyde
6 Park-Kenwood Community Conference, St. Rose Home for the
7 developmentally disabled, John Howard Society and Auditorium
8 Theatre Council; Mr. Berger formed Generations Development, a
9 real estate management and redevelopment company that he ran
10 with his son, Avery; and
11 WHEREAS, Paul Berger began a second career in 1985,
12 serving as an administrator and lecturer at Columbia College,
13 lecturing in entrepreneurship and basic business principles;
14 and
15 WHEREAS, Paul Berger took great pleasure in encouraging
16 young people to realize their potential and instilling in his
17 students the love of the country for which he fought and the
18 community for which he worked; and
19 WHEREAS, Paul H. Berger is survived by his wife, Sara
20 Giddings Bode, former president of the Greater State Street
21 Council; his son, Avery; and his daughter, Jessica;
22 therefore, be it
23 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
24 NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
25 send our sincere condolences to the family and friends of
26 Paul H. Berger of Hyde Park; may they find comfort in this
27 time of need; and be it further
28 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
29 presented to the family of Paul H. Berger.