Harold Washington Resolution
Whereas, Harold Washington, a native son of Chicago, was born on April 15, 1922, was a product of Chicago Public Schools, having attended Forestville Elementary and DuSable High Schools; and
Whereas, during WWII, he served in the United States Air Force from 1942-1946; and
Whereas, he received his BA. from Roosevelt University in 1949 where he served as President of the Student Council and was a highly respected student leader; and
Whereas, he was the Secretary of the Third Ward Regular Democratic Organization for Alderman Ralph Metcalfe and helped to organize the Third Ward Young Democrats which became one of the leading Young Democratic organizations in the State of Illinois; and
Whereas, Harold Washington received his Jurist Doctorate from Northwestern University Law School in 1952 and was admitted to the Bar in 1953, served as an Assistant City Prosecutor in Chicago from 1954-1958, and later Arbitrator for the Illinois Industrial Commission from 1960-1964;and
Whereas, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1965, where he served with distinction until he was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1977; and
Whereas, while in the General Assembly, he was the first legislator in the nation to organize a Black Legislative Caucus and to successfully pass a bill commemorating a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; and
Whereas, in 1980, Harold Washington was elected to the United States Congress, and served on three House Committees which was unprecedented for a freshman congressman, and was the leader in securing a ten-year extension of the Voting Rights Act; and
Whereas, in 1983, he was drafted by the community to run for the office of Mayor of the City of Chicago, and he conducted a campaign in which his extensive vocabulary sent even the most articulate Chicago journalists running for the dictionary. Fie won the election with a diverse coalition of support; and
Whereas, as Mayor of the City of Chicago he acco...
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