TRIBUTE TO JUDGE ANTHONY LYNN BURRELL
WHEREAS, On Wednesday, May 14, 2014, the Honorable Anthony Lynn Burrell, an outstanding judge and member of his community, lost his long battle with cancer; and
WHEREAS, Judge Burrell was an African-American Horatio Alger success story. A Chicago native, he was born and raised in a single-parent family of four. Economic circumstances forced him to leave school after his high-school freshman year to work in a factory. However, he continued his education on his own, studying at the public library, to realize his dream of becoming an attorney. He went to Loop College (currently known as Harold Washington College) to take the test for a G.E.D and pursued criminal justice classes at Malcolm X College; and
WHEREAS, Anthony Burrell enrolled himself at Loyola University where he graduated with honors. Due to his scholarship, he won a place at Cornell University, one of the nation's top Ivy League schools, where he received his law degree. After Cornell, he was hired as a commercial litigator at the prestigious East Coast law firm of Riker & Danzig but returned to Chicago to accept a position as a Cook County Assistant States Attorney; and
WHEREAS, It was the death of a family member at the hands of a repeat felony offender that motivated him to dedicate himself to steering youth away from lives of crime and violence. He became an advocate at Maryville Academy and a consultant to the former Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas on issues of neighborhood safety and youth violence prevention; and
WHEREAS, Judge Burrell was elected to Cook County Circuit Court bench in 2002 and won re-election in 2008. Serving 12 years in the Chancery Division at the Richard J. Daley Civic Center, one of the court's busiest calls. At one time, he was featured in a Chicago Sun-Times article for his willingness to go outside of the courtroom to ensure a fair trial; and
WHEREAS, In light of the current epidemic of senseless violence that continues to plag...
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