SR0873 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0873 LRB101 16106 MST 65469 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Richard Gordon Hatcher, who passed away on December 13, 2019; and

WHEREAS, Richard Hatcher was born in Michigan City, Indiana on July 10, 1933; he graduated from Indiana University and earned a law degree from Valparaiso University; he moved to Gary, Indiana after becoming a deputy prosecutor and married Ruthellyn in 1976; and

WHEREAS, Richard Hatcher was elected mayor of Gary, Indiana in 1967, becoming one of the first black mayors of a major U.S. city; he became the political face of Gary and a political force for blacks after his ground-breaking election; he organized the 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary and served as chairman of Jesse Jackson's Democratic presidential campaign in 1984 and vice chairman four years later; and

WHEREAS, During his 20 years in office, Richard Hatcher secured hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money for Gary, Indiana, some of which was used to build low-cost housing and the first public housing units in the city in nearly two decades; he also received federal funds for jobs training, repaved deteriorating streets, and put numerous inner-city neighborhoods on regular garbage collection for the first time; and

WHEREAS, Prior to becoming mayor of Gary, Indiana, Richard Hatcher was a member of its city council, where he helped pass an open housing law to end restrictive property covenants that forced blacks to live primarily in Gary's midtown section; and

WHEREAS, Richard Hatcher and his wife have three daughters, Ragen, Rachelle, and Renee; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Richard Gordon Hatcher and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

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