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HR0836 |
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LRB096 18389 GRL 33766 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of |
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| Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of
Wesley |
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| South, who passed away on January 9, 2010; and
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| WHEREAS, Wesley South was born on March 23, 1914, in |
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| Muskogee, Oklahoma; his parents were Dr. Elijah and Mayme |
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| South; and
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| WHEREAS, Wesley South and his family moved to Chicago in |
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| 1924; he received his primary and secondary education in the |
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| Chicago Public School system and graduated from Englewood High |
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| School; and
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| WHEREAS, Wesley South served his country with pride and |
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| distinction as a member of the U.S. Army for 2 years during |
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| World War II; after leaving the service, he enrolled at |
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| Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1951, Wesley South was hired by The Chicago |
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| Defender; in December of 1951, he joined the editorial staff of |
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| the Johnson Publishing Company, where he worked for nearly 6 |
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| years; he also worked for the Chicago American and the Chicago |
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| Daily News; and
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HR0836 |
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LRB096 18389 GRL 33766 r |
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| WHEREAS, In 1961, while working as a columnist and doing |
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| public relations work for the NAACP, Wesley South was |
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| approached by a local radio executive, who asked Mr. South to |
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| host his own show; in 1962, Leonard and Phil Chess of Chess |
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| Records bought the station and changed the call letters to |
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| WVON; 2 years later, Mr. South began his popular program, |
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| Hotline; and
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| WHEREAS, During Hotline's 16-year run, Wesley South |
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| interviewed such luminaries as Presidents John F. Kennedy and |
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| Jimmy Carter, jazz great Duke Ellington, baseball pioneer |
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| Jackie Robinson, and civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther |
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| King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers; in 1979, he became a |
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| part owner of WVON; and
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| WHEREAS, Wesley South was an active member of his |
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| community, serving in various capacities with the NAACP, The |
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| Chicago Urban League, and Operation Breadbasket; he also played |
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| major roles in the political campaigns of Mayor Harold |
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| Washington, Congressman Gus Savage, and former U.S. Senator |
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| Carol Moseley Braun, as well as the elections of his daughter, |
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| Leslie, to the Circuit Court of Cook County and the Illinois |
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| Appellate Court; and
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| WHEREAS, Wesley South was preceded in death by his wife, |
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| Mildred; and
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HR0836 |
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LRB096 18389 GRL 33766 r |
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| WHEREAS, Wesley South is survived by his daughter, Leslie |
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| South; his son-in-law, Arthur Jackson; and his grandson, Wesley |
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| Jackson; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
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| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we |
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| mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Wesley |
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| South; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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| presented to the family of Wesley South as an expression of our |
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| sympathy.
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