Bill Text: IL HR0287 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Declares April 30, 2025 as Alpha Phi Alpha Day in the State of Illinois. Commends Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated for 119 years of outstanding service, leadership, and advocacy. Welcomes the members of the fraternity to the State Capitol for this annual celebration of excellence.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2025-04-30 - Referred to Rules Committee [HR0287 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HR0287-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated was
founded by seven college men, respectfully known as the Seven
Jewels, on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New
York on December 4, 1906, becoming the first intercollegiate
Greek-letter fraternity established by and for African
Americans; and
WHEREAS, The Seven Jewels, Henry Arthur Callis, Charles
Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley,
Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner
Woodson Tandy, recognized the need for a strong bond of
brotherhood among African descendants in this country and the
need to help correct the educational, economic, political, and
social injustices faced by African Americans and other people
of color; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha initially served as a study and
support group for minority students who faced racial
prejudice, both educationally and socially, at Cornell
University; its founders and early leaders laid a firm
foundation for the fraternity's principles of scholarship,
fellowship, good character, and the uplifting of humanity; and
WHEREAS, While stressing academic excellence among its

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members since its founding, Alpha Phi Alpha has consistently
supplied its voice and vision to the struggle for civil rights
and social justice around the world; and
WHEREAS, The aims of Alpha Phi Alpha are manly deeds,
scholarship, and love for all mankind; and
WHEREAS, The mission of Alpha Phi Alpha is to develop
leaders, promote brotherhood and academic excellence, and
provide service and advocacy for communities, as exemplified
through its national programs, which include
"Go-to-High-School, Go-to-College", "Project Alpha", and "A
Voteless People is a Hopeless People", along with strategic
partnerships with a number of organizations, such as Big
Brothers Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts of America, March of
Dimes, the American Heart Association, and the American Cancer
Society; and
WHEREAS, For over 118 years, Alpha Phi Alpha has played a
fundamental role in shaping the character and educational
achievement of more than 200,000 men worldwide, and the
fraternity will celebrate 119 years as the first Black
Greek-letter organization on December 4, 2025; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha has more than 700 chapters
globally, including 32 active chapters in Illinois, with its

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roots dating back to the 1910 founding of Theta Chapter and
1924 founding of Xi Lambda Chapter in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
include many noteworthy leaders in the areas of government,
business, entertainment, science, and higher education,
including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Justice Thurgood
Marshall, W.E.B. DuBois, John Hope Franklin, John H. Johnson,
Adam Clayton Powell, Andrew Young, Robert Smith, Dick Gregory,
and Cornel West; its membership also includes a long and
distinguished list of current and former federal, state, and
local elected officials, including U.S. Senator Raphael
Warnock, U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis, former U.S.
Senators Edward Brooke and Roland Burris, former State
Senators Adelbert H. Roberts, who was also the first African
American in the Illinois State Senate, and Donne E. Trotter,
former State Representatives Al Riley and Art Turner Jr.,
former Cook County Board Presidents John and Todd Stroger, and
former Mayor of Chicago Eugene Sawyer, among countless others
who have long stood at the forefront of the fight for civil and
human rights and social change for all Americans; and
WHEREAS, Several Alpha Phi Alpha men continue to serve
with distinction in the Illinois General Assembly, including
Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Illinois Legislative House
Black Caucus Chair Representative Justin Slaughter, Assistant

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Majority Leader Representative Maurice West, and Senate
Majority Caucus Appropriations Leader Elgie R. Sims Jr., who
also served as the 26th Midwestern Regional Vice President;
and
WHEREAS, On April 30, 2025, Illinois members of Alpha Phi
Alpha will gather for Alpha Day at the Capitol in Springfield,
and in a powerful display of unity and purpose, they will be
joined by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. to collectively
advance the priorities of the communities they serve;
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we declare April 30, 2025 as Alpha Phi Alpha Day in the State
of Illinois; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we commend Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity,
Incorporated for 119 years of outstanding service, leadership,
and advocacy, and we welcome the members of the fraternity to
the State Capitol for this annual celebration of excellence.