Bill Text: IL HR0838 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of Anthony James Bradford.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2022-11-15 - Resolution Adopted [HR0838 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HR0838-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Anthony | ||||||
4 | James Bradford; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford was born to Dorothy Joiner and | ||||||
6 | Thomas Fields on November 2, 1964; he was raised in Chicago | ||||||
7 | along with his four siblings by his mother Dorothy and Robert | ||||||
8 | "Pops" Joiner; he attended First New Mt. Olive Baptist Church, | ||||||
9 | where he previously served as an usher; he attended Gillespie | ||||||
10 | Elementary School and Julian High School; after graduation, he | ||||||
11 | briefly attended Grambling State University and then returned | ||||||
12 | home, where he became employed in the Northwestern University | ||||||
13 | Mail Services department; he was affectionately known as "Amp" | ||||||
14 | or "AJ"; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford dreamed of becoming a lawyer and | ||||||
16 | also of joining the United States Peace Corps; after nearly | ||||||
17 | eight years, he resigned from his position at Northwestern | ||||||
18 | University and enrolled in Western Illinois University, where | ||||||
19 | he was a member of the Black Student Association, the | ||||||
20 | Political Science Club, and the Pre Law Club; he served as an | ||||||
21 | aide to then-Mayor Tom Carperand and assisted with his | ||||||
22 | political campaigns; he also volunteered in the community and | ||||||
23 | within other campus organizations; he made history when he |
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1 | became the first African American student to serve as student | ||||||
2 | representative on the Western Illinois University Board of | ||||||
3 | Trustees; he received his bachelor's degree in May 1995; and
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4 | WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford returned to Chicago and, along | ||||||
5 | with nine other students from across the United States, was | ||||||
6 | selected to participate in the prestigious Pre-Law Summer | ||||||
7 | Institute at John Marshall Law School; one of his most | ||||||
8 | cherished memories was having an opportunity to argue through | ||||||
9 | mock trial the groundbreaking civil rights case Dred Scott v. | ||||||
10 | Sanford in the presence of a room filled with judges, lawyers, | ||||||
11 | law professors, other members of the legal community, and his | ||||||
12 | fellow program participants; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford was sworn in as a United States | ||||||
14 | Peace Corps volunteer in the fall of 1996; during his years of | ||||||
15 | service, he served as an agro business consultant and liaison, | ||||||
16 | ESL teacher, and a grant writer in Grand Goave, Haiti; he was | ||||||
17 | instrumental in securing funding for many local water and | ||||||
18 | agricultural projects; he loved Haiti and embraced many | ||||||
19 | aspects of Haitian culture; an incident in which he ran his | ||||||
20 | bike into a six year old orphaned boy, Chelot, would change the | ||||||
21 | trajectory of both of their lives and hearts; as his Peace | ||||||
22 | Corps end of service date approached, he focused on legally | ||||||
23 | adopting Chelot and bringing him back to the United States; in | ||||||
24 | 2001, he married Ge'ylah Jones Allen and gained two sons and a |
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1 | daughter, Aaron Oschea, Johnathan Lee, and Shauntia Caprice; | ||||||
2 | in 2006, Chelot joined his family in Chicago; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford held many jobs in social service | ||||||
4 | management, but his passion was education; he taught for over | ||||||
5 | 20 years within the Chicago, Baltimore, and Florida public | ||||||
6 | school systems; he was an exceptionally gifted historian and | ||||||
7 | political scientist; his specialty was foreign policy and | ||||||
8 | civil rights; he was an avid reader and enjoyed watching | ||||||
9 | political news; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford served as president of the 9600 | ||||||
11 | Princeton Block Club for several years; he pioneered the | ||||||
12 | city's prestigious Garden of Excellence Award; he received | ||||||
13 | numerous acknowledgments for his unending service, including | ||||||
14 | the Roseland YMCA Community Service and Volunteer Award and | ||||||
15 | the Western Illinois University Black Student Union Volunteer | ||||||
16 | of the Year; and
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17 | WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford loved his family; as a first | ||||||
18 | generation college attendee and graduate, he was a | ||||||
19 | trailblazer; he influenced and assisted his siblings and many | ||||||
20 | of his cousins, nieces, and nephews with the college | ||||||
21 | enrollment process; he also had a strong bond with his | ||||||
22 | grandmothers; his cousins were like siblings, and his friends | ||||||
23 | were like cousins; he will always be remembered for his |
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1 | willingness to help anyone and everyone; and
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2 | WHEREAS, Posthumously, Anthony Bradford's family will | ||||||
3 | finalize the publication of his memoir, From the Hood to | ||||||
4 | Haiti, a companion project to the many high school and | ||||||
5 | collegiate speaking appearances that bore the same title; his | ||||||
6 | long-standing message within the project was that as an inner | ||||||
7 | city, non-Ivy League college graduate, despite the obstacles | ||||||
8 | and challenges he faced, he was able to endure and complete the | ||||||
9 | rigorous Peace Corps application process and live out one of | ||||||
10 | his biggest dreams; therefore, be it
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11 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
12 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
13 | we mourn the passing of Anthony James Bradford and extend our | ||||||
14 | sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew | ||||||
15 | and loved him; and be it further
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16 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
17 | presented to the family of Anthony Bradford as an expression | ||||||
18 | of our deepest sympathy.
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