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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to 
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learn of the death of James C. Griggs, Jr. of Chicago, who 
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passed away on October 9, 2008; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He was born on October 24, 1930 on the near 
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westside of Chicago; he and his family moved to Maple Park in 
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1963; and

 
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    WHEREAS, His career began in 1947, when he served the Army 
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in the Illinois National Guard; he went on to become a member 
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of the Army Security Agency (ASA) with top secret clearance and 
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attained a rank of sergeant; he was honorably discharged in 
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September of 1957; he received a Bachelors of Arts from 
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Roosevelt University in 1954, a Masters of Education from 
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Illinois Teacher College in 1964, a Juris Doctorate from DePaul 
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University in 1977, and  a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois 
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University, Carbondale in 1988; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 1957, he started his career as a mental health 
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sociologist with the Illinois Department of Mental Health; in 
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1958 he became a probation officer in Chicago; he was a 
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probation officer with a caseload that was representative of 
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all ethnic backgrounds; in 1960, he went to work for the City 
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of Chicago, Commission on Youth Welfare, and the Chicago 
 


 






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Community on Urban Opportunity; he was responsible for managing 
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a community center which provided hope to the disenfranchised; 
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and
 
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    WHEREAS,  In 1968, he went to work at the University of 
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Illinois-Chicago, where he served as Director of the 
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Educational Assistance Program (EAP), designed to increase 
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minority enrollment; he was also tenured as Associate Professor 
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in Higher Education; he  became president of Malcolm X College 
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in 1977 and remained there until 1987; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 2005 he became a developer and construction 
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manager, acquiring land, building and selling a single family 
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home on the southeast side of Chicago; and

 
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    WHEREAS, James C. Griggs, Jr. is survived by his wife, 
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Alice; his son, Eric James (Billie); and his granddaughter, 
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Jessica; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with 
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his family and friends, the passing of James C. Griggs, Jr.; 
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and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the family of James C. Griggs, Jr. as a symbol of 
 


 






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our sincere sympathy.