Full Text of SR2347 99th General Assembly
SR2347 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 Herb Kent, who passed away at the age of | 4 | | 88; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Herb Kent was born on October 5, 1928 and was | 6 | | raised on Chicago's South Side, where he received early musical | 7 | | inspiration from the rhythm and blues clubs that dotted his | 8 | | neighborhood; he often stood outside the windows of these clubs | 9 | | listening to the tunes being played inside; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, As a young teen, Herb Kent became involved in | 11 | | drama workshops and studied classical music at Hyde Park High | 12 | | School; in 1944, at the age of 16, he hosted a classical music | 13 | | program for the prestigious WBEZ Radio station; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Herb Kent hosted radio shows on several stations | 15 | | in Chicago; though each station had a platform and a format of | 16 | | its own, his style of humor, critique, and banter was | 17 | | immediately recognizable to his loyal listeners, no matter what | 18 | | station broadcast his shows; one of his most infamous stints | 19 | | was with WVON Radio between 1962 and 1970; many members of the | 20 | | broadcasting community have stated that he greatly helped to | 21 | | launch the careers of such R & B artists as The Temptations, | 22 | | Minnie Ripperton, Curtis Mayfield, and Smokey Robinson because |
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| 1 | | of his enthusiastic, on-air embrace of their music; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, During his broadcast on WVON, Herb Kent became | 3 | | widely known as the "Voice of the People" for Chicago's South | 4 | | Side, the spokesperson for local African-Americans; he became | 5 | | known widely as "Herb Kent, the Cool Gent", and even served as | 6 | | producer for an R & B group named The Cool Gents; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Herb Kent was the recipient of many awards and | 8 | | recognitions, including an induction into the Museum of | 9 | | Broadcast Communications Radio Hall of Fame in 1995; in 1996, | 10 | | he witnessed the official dedication of a street on Chicago's | 11 | | South Side in his honor: "Herb Kent Drive"; he was also | 12 | | recognized by the dedication of a United States postal stamp | 13 | | bearing his image, which was included in the 1998 "Golden Days | 14 | | of Radio" series, and was named the Honorary Mayor of | 15 | | Bronzeville by the citizens of that South Side community the | 16 | | following year; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 18 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his | 19 | | family and friends, mourn the passing of Herb Kent; and be it | 20 | | further
| 21 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 22 | | presented to the family of Herb Kent as an expression of our |
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| 1 | | sympathy.
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