RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr., has been called to eternal life by the wisdom of God at the age of ninety-five; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of his passing by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, A resident of the Hyde Park community, the Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr., was a retired jurist and the loving husband of Gwendolyn; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr., was the much-adored father of John W. Rogers, Jr., to whom he imparted many of the fine and noble qualities that he possessed in abundance; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr., was a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and moved to Chicago to be raised by an uncle after both of his parents died; and
WHEREAS, During World War II, the Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr., was a fighter pilot and one of the original twenty-eight Tuskegee Airmen, flying 120 missions over Europe; and
WHEREAS, After returning home from the war, the Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr., earned his law degree from the University of Chicago and worked in private practice before being appointed to the bench in 1977; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr., brought justice and compassion to his judicial tenure and served for twenty-one years as a Cook County Juvenile Court Judge; and
WHEREAS, In 2012, President Barack Obama presented the Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr., and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen with the Congressional Gold Medal; and
WHEREAS, The hard work, sacrifice and dedication of the Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr., serve as an example to all; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr., will be dearly missed and fondly remembered by his many relatives, friends and admirers; and
WHEREAS, To his beloved family, the Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr., imparts a legacy of faithfulness, service and dignity; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this fifth day of February, 2014, do hereby commemorate the Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr., for his grace-filled life and do hereby express our condolences to his family; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of the Honorable John W. Rogers, Sr.