Bill Text: IL SR1625 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of James Adams of Chicago.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-03-03 - Resolution Adopted [SR1625 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-SR1625-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | ||||||
3 | learn of the death of James "Major" Adams of Chicago; and
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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
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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
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18 | WHEREAS, From 1959 through 1962, James Adams, with the | ||||||
19 | assistance of the Chicago Area Project, established and
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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