Bill Text: IL SR0243 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of Benjamin J. "Ben" Cheek of Rantoul.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-04-29 - Resolution Adopted [SR0243 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-SR0243-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | ||||||
3 | to learn of the death of Benjamin J. "Ben" Cheek of Rantoul, | ||||||
4 | who passed away on March 9, 2021; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek was born to Bertha (Hunter) and | ||||||
6 | Benjamin Cheek in Warrenton, North Carolina on May 8, 1936; he | ||||||
7 | joined the U.S. Air Force and served as a fire protection | ||||||
8 | specialist and with a helicopter rescue group; he served | ||||||
9 | overseas in England and Africa and was stationed at a variety | ||||||
10 | of locations throughout the U.S.; he married Emily Harris in | ||||||
11 | Washington, D.C. on June 6, 1959 and completed his 20-year Air | ||||||
12 | Force career at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek often held a second job in addition to | ||||||
14 | his full-time military service; he was a bouncer at the base | ||||||
15 | NCO Club, bagged groceries at the commissary, and worked at | ||||||
16 | Eisner's grocery store in Rantoul, serving first in the meat | ||||||
17 | department and then the produce department; he became the | ||||||
18 | grocery manager and finally the manager of the entire store; | ||||||
19 | and
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20 | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek retired from the Air Force and worked | ||||||
21 | as a civil servant, where he was in charge of coordinating many | ||||||
22 | training manuals for all of the Armed Forces; he also worked |
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1 | one more part-time stint as a bus driver, this time for Rantoul | ||||||
2 | Township High School; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek spent time as a firefighter; during | ||||||
4 | Fire Prevention Week, he would visit his children's schools | ||||||
5 | and give them and their classmates rides on his fire truck; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek served on the Rantoul City Schools | ||||||
7 | Board of Education for 17 years; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek was not political, but in 1968, when | ||||||
9 | Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, the local | ||||||
10 | television station in Minot announced it would not carry his | ||||||
11 | funeral; he and his wife helped organize a protest and letter | ||||||
12 | writing campaign that led the station to reverse that decision | ||||||
13 | and honor Dr. King with live coverage of his services; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek and his wife volunteered as chaperones | ||||||
15 | at school dances, and he attended as many of his | ||||||
16 | grandchildren's events and activities as possible; he loved | ||||||
17 | giving them creative pet names; he was a devoted and | ||||||
18 | protective father and grandfather; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek was an active member of Rantoul First | ||||||
20 | United Methodist Church for 47 years, where he served in many | ||||||
21 | ways; he was on the Board of Trustees, a member of the finance |
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1 | committee, an usher, and the elevator operator; and
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2 | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek was an avid sports fan; he and his wife | ||||||
3 | were season ticket holders for the University of Illinois | ||||||
4 | basketball team; his favorite baseball team was the New York | ||||||
5 | Mets, although he also rooted for the Cubs; he was a devoted | ||||||
6 | fan of the Green Bay Packers, but he would support the Chicago | ||||||
7 | Bears; his barbecue grilling skills were legendary; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek was affectionate and often showed his | ||||||
9 | love in simple ways like preparing Emily's special coffee or | ||||||
10 | the special drink they shared, scraping the car windows for | ||||||
11 | his daughters after a snowfall, and treating Emily and, years | ||||||
12 | after she passed, Harriette Dottery, as the treasures he knew | ||||||
13 | they were; he spent the last years of his life doing the things | ||||||
14 | he loved with Harriette, enjoying being with family, meeting | ||||||
15 | new people, and traveling; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek was preceded in death by his wife, | ||||||
17 | Emily; his parents; and all seven of his siblings; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Ben Cheek is survived by his companion, | ||||||
19 | Harriette; his children, Ramona, Keith (Amy), Sharon (Shonda | ||||||
20 | Russell), Monica (Sam) Hall, and Niki (Asa) Pettit; and his | ||||||
21 | grandchildren, Quintin, Eric, and Emily Cheek, Jordan and | ||||||
22 | Nathan Russell, Samuel IV, Anisa, and Elijah Hall, and Ameea |
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1 | and Kalel Pettit; therefore, be it
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2 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | ||||||
3 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
4 | Benjamin J. "Ben" Cheek and extend our sincere condolences to | ||||||
5 | his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | ||||||
6 | further
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7 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
8 | presented to the family of Ben Cheek as an expression of our | ||||||
9 | deepest sympathy.
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