Bill Text: IL SR1070 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Thanks and honors our friend and colleague, Senator James Meeks, for his years of service to the people of Illinois.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2013-01-08 - Resolution Adopted [SR1070 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2011-SR1070-Introduced.html
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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Illinois State Senator James Meeks was born in | ||||||
| 3 | Chicago; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks attended Harper High School in | ||||||
| 5 | Chicago; he subsequently continued his education at Bishop | ||||||
| 6 | College in Dallas, Texas, where he earned his bachelor's degree | ||||||
| 7 | in religion and philosophy; this led to his eventual position | ||||||
| 8 | as Pastor at the Salem Baptist Church in Chicago, where he | ||||||
| 9 | oversaw the growth of the congregation to over 22,000 members; | ||||||
| 10 | and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks has been a long-time community | ||||||
| 12 | activist, supporting many initiatives demonstrating his | ||||||
| 13 | commitment to social justice, economic and educational | ||||||
| 14 | equality, and civil rights, including sponsoring educational | ||||||
| 15 | scholarships for children, feeding the homeless, and | ||||||
| 16 | supporting drug rehabilitation programs; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks led the rally to "dry up" the | ||||||
| 18 | Roseland community in 1998 by collecting votes to close 26 area | ||||||
| 19 | liquor stores; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks established the Salem Christian | ||||||
| 21 | Academy School to provide quality education to hundreds of | ||||||
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| 1 | children from preschool through 8th grade; he started the "It | ||||||
| 2 | Takes a Village" mentoring program offering guidance and | ||||||
| 3 | support for pregnant teenagers and teen mothers, which has | ||||||
| 4 | benefitted countless young people since its founding; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks served as a member of the Board of | ||||||
| 6 | Directors for the Chicago Fire Department, the Roseland | ||||||
| 7 | Community Hospital, the Korean American Merchant Association, | ||||||
| 8 | and the Olive Branch Mission; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks, since his election to the Illinois | ||||||
| 10 | Senate in 2003, has demonstrated his commitment to improving | ||||||
| 11 | the lives of underserved groups, particularly in his unceasing | ||||||
| 12 | advocacy for education funding reform and access to affordable | ||||||
| 13 | housing, while serving on the Senate Committees on Revenue, | ||||||
| 14 | Elections, Housing & Community Affairs, Human Services, State | ||||||
| 15 | Government & Veterans Affairs, Commerce & Economic | ||||||
| 16 | Development, Education, Agriculture & Conservation, Senate | ||||||
| 17 | Education Funding Reform, Appropriations, and Higher | ||||||
| 18 | Education; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks was the chief architect of | ||||||
| 20 | legislation that sought to eliminate the funding disparity | ||||||
| 21 | between wealthy and poor communities by shifting school funding | ||||||
| 22 | from property taxes to income taxes, allowing the State to | ||||||
| 23 | maintain a consistent revenue source for Illinois children; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks served as Joint-Chair of the | ||||||
| 2 | Illinois Legislative Black Caucus; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks has successfully passed legislation | ||||||
| 4 | that reduces racial profiling by establishing a camera grant | ||||||
| 5 | fund to pay for cameras in police squad cars; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks has supported legislation to | ||||||
| 7 | decrease recidivism rates and to keep communities safer by | ||||||
| 8 | encouraging employers to hire ex-offenders; he has also | ||||||
| 9 | championed legislation that would improve safety by bringing | ||||||
| 10 | jobs and businesses to economically depressed areas; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks currently serves as the Executive | ||||||
| 12 | Vice President of the National Rainbow-PUSH Coalition, where he | ||||||
| 13 | is able to expand his commitment to social justice, economic | ||||||
| 14 | and educational equality, and civil rights; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks has received awards from the Better | ||||||
| 16 | Funding for Better Schools Coalition, the Illinois Association | ||||||
| 17 | of School Administrators, and the Illinois Farm Bureau for his | ||||||
| 18 | outstanding service; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks is blessed with his wife and | ||||||
| 20 | partner, Jamell, as well as 4 children and one grandchild; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Senator Meeks' service to the 15th Legislative | ||||||
| 2 | District and to the citizens of Illinois displays the utmost | ||||||
| 3 | integrity, courage, and dedication; establishing a standard of | ||||||
| 4 | virtue to be observed by all; therefore, be it
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| 5 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 6 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Senator James | ||||||
| 7 | T. Meeks for his years of service to the people of Illinois and | ||||||
| 8 | honor him with this resolution; and be it further
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| 9 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 10 | presented to Senator James Meeks as a symbol of our gratitude | ||||||
| 11 | and with our best wishes for his future endeavors.
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