RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, James Phillips, a veteran of the Korean War, led the Chicago City Council in the Pledge of Allegiance on December 9, 2015; and
WHEREAS, James Phillips proudly hails from a family that has deep roots in Chicago history; and
WHEREAS, James Phillips is a descendant of Constable James Quinn, who in 1853 became the first Chicago police officer to die in the line of duty; and
WHEREAS, James Phillips' great-grandfather, Thomas O'Brien, was a soldier for the Union Army who was captured at the Battle of Chickamauga during the Civil War; and
WHEREAS, The story has long been handed down through the family's oral history how Thomas O'Brien fled the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 with his family in a wagon, just ahead of the flames, and immersed themselves in Lake Michigan off Fullerton Avenue as they watched the City burn; and
WHEREAS, James Phillips' godfather, John F. O'Keefe, was a founder of the legendary City News Bureau of Chicago and the publisher of the Chicago Daily News during the 1940s; and
WHEREAS, James Phillips' grandfather, John J. O'Brien, was a Chicago Police Captain who commanded the old Racine Avenue District; and
WHEREAS, Raised near Clark and Granville in St. Gertrude's Parish, James Phillips graduated from Loyola Academy and Loyola University; and
WHEREAS, James Phillips enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 21 shortly after graduating from college; and
WHEREAS, James Phillips was assigned to a destroyer task force based out of Newport, Rhode Island and served in the North Atlantic fleet; and
WHEREAS, As a Lieutenant, James Phillips participated in shipboard training and an array of other duties and assignments in the North Atlantic Theater of Operations; and
WHEREAS, After his honorable discharge, James Phillips began a lifelong association with the Naval War College Foundation, a mid-rank level strategic tactical and training college located in Newport, Rhode Island; and
WHEREAS, James Phillips spent the next 40 years working for USG Corporation which made sheetrock, wallboard and related products; and
WHEREAS, Before moving 12 years ago to Glenview, James Phillips lived in Wilmette and Winnetka; and
WHEREAS, James Phillips is a true American patriot who is highly deserving of our. great respect and admiration; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this ninth day of December, 2015, do hereby express our sincere gratitude to James Phillips for his service to our nation and do hereby declare that January 4, 2016 shall be officially recognized as James Phillips Day throughout the City of Chicago; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to James Phillips.
