Resolution
adopted by The City Council
ofthe City of Chicago, Illinois
TRIBUTE TO GILBERT S. MARCHMAN IV
WHEREAS, In His infinite wisdom, almighty God has granted eternal peace to Gilbert S. Marchman IV, a remarkable public servant and outstanding citizen of Chicago, on March 25, 2022; and
WHEREAS Gil Marchman started his journey in this city as the youngest and last surviving child born to the union of Gilbert S. Marchman 111 and Daisy Hunter on August 26, 1934. Two older sisters, Gwendolyn Marchman and Harriet Gregory, preceded him in passing; and
WHEREAS a South Side native, Gil Marchman attended Betsy Ross Elementary before matriculating to St. Emma Military Academy established in 1899 as a high school military academy exclusively for African American male students and located near Powhatan, Virginia. Upon graduating, he served in the U.S. military during the Korean war and returned to further his education at the University of Illinois; and
WHEREAS, for two decades Gil Marchman was employed as a docket clerk in the probate division ofthe Cook County Circuit Court. Eventually he became director of data processing prior to his appointment as Clerk of the lsl District Appellate Court of Illinois in 1977 where he served until retiring in 2001. In 1989, he made an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Representative from the Illinois 1st Congressional District: and
WHEREAS it was his love of football that gave Gil Marchman a second, albeit avocational, career. After he injured a knee trying out as a running back at the University of Illinois, he started officiating games as a referee. He joined the Big 10 in 1971 as the first African American to officiate and was among an elite group of 40 conference field officials until 1993. From 1994 until he retired from officiating in 2002, he was a technical advisor and reply official. About his years with the Big Ten, he was quoted as saying, "I love it! I would pay to do it"; and
WHEREAS, in 1999 Gil Marchman was diagnosed with pa...
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