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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | ||||||
| 3 | learn of the death of
Robert E. Wooten, Sr. of Chicago, who | ||||||
| 4 | passed away on March 27, 2008; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Robert E. Wooten, Sr. was born on February 17, | ||||||
| 6 | 1930; he was the son of Flora and John Henry Wooten; he was a | ||||||
| 7 | lifelong resident of Chicago; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, In 1945, while attending Morgan Park High School, | ||||||
| 9 | Robert E. Wooten, Sr. organized a gospel choral group, the | ||||||
| 10 | Morgan Park Crusaders; after graduation, he was stricken by a | ||||||
| 11 | serious illness and was hospitalized for a year; upon | ||||||
| 12 | recovering from his illness, he devoted his life and musical | ||||||
| 13 | talent to serving his faith; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Robert E. Wooten, Sr. devoted much of his life to | ||||||
| 15 | his great faith; in July of 1949, he founded the Wooten Choral | ||||||
| 16 | Ensemble, based at Beth Eden Baptist Church; today, the Wooten | ||||||
| 17 | Choral Ensemble boasts more than fifty members and has traveled | ||||||
| 18 | extensively to perform and preach the gospel, expressing a | ||||||
| 19 | spiritual message through anthems, hymns, black spirituals, | ||||||
| 20 | and gospel sounds; the Ensemble has recorded several albums and | ||||||
| 21 | appeared on many local radio and television programs; he | ||||||
| 22 | retired as the Minister of Music of Beth Eden Baptist Church | ||||||
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| 1 | after 60 years of service to the congregation; he also served | ||||||
| 2 | as Director of Music for the Progressive National Baptist | ||||||
| 3 | Convention and as a clinician throughout the nation; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Robert E. Wooten, Sr. received his bachelor's | ||||||
| 5 | degree in music education from the Chicago Musical Conservatory | ||||||
| 6 | in 1956 and his master's degree from Roosevelt University in | ||||||
| 7 | 1968; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Robert E. Wooten, Sr. received many awards and | ||||||
| 9 | recognitions for his contributions to gospel music; he was | ||||||
| 10 | given an honorary doctorate from Virginia Seminary College in | ||||||
| 11 | 1983; he was recognized at the Chicago Gospel Festival in 1994 | ||||||
| 12 | for his contributions to religious music; in 2004, he was | ||||||
| 13 | listed by The History Makers for outstanding contributions in | ||||||
| 14 | Music; in 2005, he was honored by NASPAAM (National Association | ||||||
| 15 | for the Study and Performance of African-American Music) for | ||||||
| 16 | his outstanding achievements in African-American music; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Robert E. Wooten, Sr. also enjoyed a distinguished | ||||||
| 18 | career as an educator; during his tenure at Parker High School | ||||||
| 19 | in Chicago, he led the school's choir to city-wide fame and | ||||||
| 20 | rose to the rank of assistant principal before becoming a | ||||||
| 21 | district administrator; he worked as a district administrator | ||||||
| 22 | with the Chicago Board of Education until his retirement in | ||||||
| 23 | 1994; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Robert E. Wooten, Sr. and his wife, Frances, were | ||||||
| 2 | married since 1956; together, they had three children; | ||||||
| 3 | therefore, be it
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| 4 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 5 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | ||||||
| 6 | his family and friends, the passing of Robert E. Wooten, Sr.; | ||||||
| 7 | and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to the family of Robert E. Wooten, Sr. as an | ||||||
| 10 | expression of our sympathy.
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