Full Text of SR1625 99th General Assembly
SR1625 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of James "Major" Adams of Chicago; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, James Adams was born on January 5, 1922 and raised | 5 | | on the Westside of Chicago; he graduated from Crane High School | 6 | | in 1939 and served in Europe during World War II; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, After World War II, James Adams worked for various | 8 | | agencies, including Jane Adams'
Hull House; he moved into Henry | 9 | | Horner Housing Development in 1955 and began providing gang | 10 | | intervention and prevention programs as a volunteer, then later | 11 | | as an employee, of the Henry
Horner Boys & Girls Club; due in | 12 | | part to his efforts, the Henry Horner Boys & Girls Club became | 13 | | the
first Boys & Girls Club built in a housing development in | 14 | | the United States; he and other community residents created a | 15 | | drill team which later became the Hornets Drum &
Bugle Corps, a | 16 | | nationally renowned 120-member, paramilitary style band | 17 | | composed of young people and
troubled youth ages 14 to 21; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, From 1959 through 1962, James Adams, with the | 19 | | assistance of the Chicago Area Project, established and
| 20 | | developed the Youth Services Committee of the Westside, a | 21 | | grass-roots, voluntary, community-based
organization to | 22 | | address the rising juvenile delinquency cases in the |
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| 1 | | neighborhood; he helped provide direct services and advocated | 2 | | on behalf of the
youth and families with schools, courts, the | 3 | | Chicago Police Department, and other institutions; he | 4 | | initiated community organizing
and development efforts aimed | 5 | | at improving the quality of life for neighborhood residents; | 6 | | and | 7 | | WHEREAS, James Adams created the community's first | 8 | | re-entry program for ex-felons; he recruited the
Salvation Army | 9 | | to provide daily breakfast and lunches and Mile Square Health | 10 | | Center and
Bobby Wright Mental Health to provide medical | 11 | | services; during the 1970s and 1980s, he assisted the
| 12 | | leadership of Malcolm X in recruiting and increasing student | 13 | | enrollment, developing the
community/college music program, | 14 | | and promoting summer youth sports and academic initiatives; he | 15 | | led the
Malcolm X College Kwanzaa program for youth residing in | 16 | | the Henry Horner Homes from 1993 to 1996; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, James Adams worked with local businesses, | 18 | | including Rush University to provide job opportunities; he | 19 | | created
the original midnight basketball program to keep young | 20 | | men off the streets during prime crime spree
hours; his | 21 | | counseling and mentoring aided in reducing the rate of | 22 | | recidivism and his work with
Nancy Jefferson and Congressman | 23 | | Danny Davis led to many programs assisting ex-felons; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, James Adams' work has influenced many
notable | 2 | | individuals such as Warner Saunders (NBC 5 News Anchor), | 3 | | Reginald "Hats" Adams, Maurice
and Verdine White (Earth, Wind & | 4 | | Fire), Dr. Steven Parker, Dr. Vaughn Tatum, Sonny Lumpkin, City
| 5 | | College Chancellor Cheryl Hyman, Howard Lathan, Boyse Edwards, | 6 | | Keith Jackson, Arthur Robertson
(Founder of the South Shore | 7 | | Drill Team), Bill Freeman; and many other notable leaders; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, James Adams was a recipient of numerous awards and | 9 | | accolades, including the 1996 Shule Ya Watolo Award, the 1998 | 10 | | National
Jefferson Award/Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Public | 11 | | Service Award, the 2012 President Volunteer Services
Award, and | 12 | | the 2013 Governor's Volunteer Award; he continued to actively | 13 | | serve families of the greater
Westside late into his life; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, James Adams' work will continue through the agency | 15 | | he founded in 1996,
the Major Adams Community Committee (MACC), | 16 | | which along with countless others will keep his vision alive of | 17 | | "Empowering Youth and
Families"; therefore, be it
| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 19 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 20 | | James "Major" Adams, and extend our sincere condolences to his | 21 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 22 | | further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | presented to the family of James Adams as an expression of our | 3 | | deepest sympathy.
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