SR1164 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1164 LRB099 15114 GRL 39575 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of the Honorable Augustus Alexander "Gus" Savage of Chicago, Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Gus Savage was born in Detroit, Michigan on October 30, 1925, and his family moved to the South Side of Chicago 5 years later; he attended public schools in Chicago, graduating from Wendell Phillips High School in 1943; he later served in a segregated unit of the United States Army from 1943 to 1946, where the racial discrimination he witnessed contributed to his future radicalism; after he completed a tour of duty in World War II, he attended Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy in 1951; after being enrolled in Chicago-Kent College of Law during 1952 and 1953, he changed his career to journalism in 1954; and

WHEREAS, A lifelong civil rights advocate, Gus Savage fought against discrimination in housing, employment, and labor unions; in the 1960s, he chaired Chicago's South End Voters Conference and the Protest at the Polls; he also was the founder and chief strategist of the black political independent movement in the Midwest; he organized and participated in a series of protests, including one against the National Tea Company (an advertiser in his newspapers) to draw attention to the company's poor record on minority hiring practices; he also played an important role in publicizing the brutal murder of Emmett Till by printing a photograph of the body of the 14-year-old African-American boy from Chicago who was killed in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman; the shocking photographs of the boy's dead body, first published by Savage in "The American Negro: A Magazine of Protest", as well as Jet and the Chicago Defender, caused a public outcry; and

WHEREAS, From 1965 to 1980, Gus Savage was one of Chicago's most influential black journalists; he was the owner, editor, and publisher of the Citizen newspapers, a chain of community weeklies in the Chicago area; he became a forceful voice for equality and black liberation, leading campaigns against the Chicago political machine for equal housing access and civil rights; in 1977, he managed Harold Washington's first unsuccessful bid for mayor, and many credit him for paving the way for Washington's successful bid 6 years later; and

WHEREAS, In 1980, Gus Savage ascended to the United States House of Representatives as an outsider to elective politics, serving Illinois' Second District; during his decade in Congress, he continued to be a strong voice for equality and minority advancement, serving as Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Economic Development and as Chairman of the Minority Business Braintrust of the Congressional Black Caucus; he also served on the House Committee on Small Business and on Public Works and Transportation; his primary concerns as a Representative focused on advancing the rights of African-Americans and improving conditions in his Chicago district; in 1986, he sponsored an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987; a major legislative triumph, the amendment imposed the largest federal contract set-aside program in history on all military procurements, providing a possible $25 billion for minority-owned and controlled businesses and institutions and historically black colleges; in 1988, he sponsored legislation to build and name the new federal office building as the Ralph H. Metcalfe Building and urged the use of minority contractors for the expensive project; he also sponsored measures to reduce home mortgages in poor communities and fought to curb toxic pollution in his Chicago district; using his position in the House to highlight issues that he believed harmed African-Americans, the Chicago Representative joined his Congressional Black Caucus colleagues in criticizing President Ronald W. Reagan's economic agenda during the 1980s, referring to a 1981 administration proposal that included tax cuts for wealthy Americans and decreased federal spending for programs to assist the poor; he was also a proponent of increased American attention on Africa and toured the continent on several occasions, including congressional visits to Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zaire, Somalia, Angola, and Kenya; and

WHEREAS, Gus Savage was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Eunice, in 1981; and

WHEREAS, Gus Savage is survived by his son, Thomas, and his wife, Judge Drella Savage; his daughter, Dr. Emma Savage-Davis; his grandchildren, Rev. Thomas Savage, Jr., Chyealla McBride and her husband, Christopher McBride, and Alexandria Davis; and his many other friends and relatives; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Gus Savage 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 Gus Savage as an expression of our deepest sympathy.