SR1095 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1095 LRB102 28231 LAW 40042 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Wadell Brooks Sr., who passed away on July 4, 2022; and

WHEREAS, Wadell Brooks was born to Willie and Canary Brooks in Lexington, Mississippi on January 20, 1933; he was the first Black student to graduate from East St. Louis Senior High School and a centennial graduate of Illinois State Normal University; he earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Education, with a minor in Physical Education; he received two honorary doctoral degrees from Faith Grant College in Birmingham, Alabama; and

WHEREAS, Wadell Brooks accepted his first position in federal civil service as an educational therapist under Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service in charge of Commercial Studies at the VA Medical Center, where he remained for 11 years; he then held several positions at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, serving as educational specialist for two years, director of Housing Assignments/Referral Service for nine years, and deputy of the Equal Employment Opportunity Office for 11 years; he retired after completing 35 years of federal civil service on November 30, 1990, which included two years serving in the U.S. Army and 16 months in Korea, from which he received the Korean Service Medal; and

WHEREAS, Wadell Brooks started a business alongside his wife in the human services field, creating a day care, infant care, and group home for girls by securing financing assistance from the Small Business Administration; and

WHEREAS, Wadell Brooks was deeply involved in community activities; he initiated and hosted NAACP Focus, a weekly radio talk show on WKRS-AM 1220 that aired every Sunday morning; he also hosted the weekly local Comcast Community Access talk show Community Forum on Channel 17, and he received the Best of Lake County First Production by a Producer Award for his show in 1994; and

WHEREAS, Wadell Brooks belonged to several organizations, including District 64's Board of Education, the non-profit Dads Are Doing Something, Inc., and the North Chicago District 187 Schools' Dads for Education; he was a past president of the North Chicago Rotary Club, the North Chicago Branch of the NAACP, and the North Chicago Chamber of Commerce; he served as chairman and on the board of directors of the Lake County Race Unity Task Force; he was a past master of Rufus Mitchell Masonic Lodge #107, and he was named 1998 Prince Hall Mason of the Year for the State of Illinois and earned the honorary 33rd degree of masonry in 1988; he was also a past patron of Emblem Chapter #140 of the Order of the Eastern Star; and

WHEREAS, Wadell Brooks committed to his faith at the Southern Mission Baptist Church in East St. Louis at the age of 13; he later served as deacon of the Shiloh Baptist Church and as trustee of the Mt. Sinai Institutional Baptist Church; and

WHEREAS, Wadell Brooks received a number of accolades, including being named the 1984 Lake County Urban League Business Person of the Year and the Most Influential African American of Lake County; he received the 1996 Charles E. DeRivera Memorial Award, the 1999 Life Models Award from the Omni Society, and the 2002 David Kellum Award from the National Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is of the United States of America; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Wadell Brooks Sr. 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 Wadell Brooks as an expression of our deepest sympathy.