HR0071 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0071 LRB096 04414 KXB 20987 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of James Webb Wagner, activist, civic leader, and long-time Hyde Park resident, who died on January 10, 2009; and

WHEREAS, Jim graduated from DuSable High School, received his B.S. from Northwestern University, his M.A. from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. from Western Colorado University; and

WHEREAS, Jim began his career as a teacher with the Chicago Public Schools; he then became the Education Director at the Chicago Urban League, and then the Dean of Students in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he served for nearly 20 years; and

WHEREAS, Jim was a community activist and consummate organizer; he headed the DuSable Alumni Coalition, which successfully fought to keep DuSable High School open when the Chicago Public Schools had plans to close it, and the Mary Herriek Scholarship Fund, which raised over $200,000 for scholarships for more than 200 DuSable graduates; even after his retirement, he worked as a consultant to non-profit organizations and continued his deep commitment to community and civic interests; he led efforts for 10 years to bring Neighbors' Eve to Hyde Park, enabling families to celebrate, without cost, New Years Eve with music, food and games in local venues; and

WHEREAS, Jim was a longtime civil rights activist; he was one of 9 members of the Emergency Relief Committee for Fayette County, Tennessee, which in 1961 and 1962 raised thousands of dollars and sent tons of food to sharecroppers in Tennessee who had been thrown off the land for registering to vote; he was captain of the "Green Train" which in 1963 transported hundreds of Chicagoans to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's March on Washington; he led the Attending to Black Culture committee, which met at the University Church in Hyde Park and focused on African-American customs and celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. years before the holiday came to be; one of Mr. Wagner's greatest joys was the election of Barack Obama as President; and

WHEREAS, Jim's love for Jazz, originally stoked by Captain Walter Dyett at DuSable High School, led him to found the Hyde Park Jazz Society in an effort to revive jazz in Hyde Park; with the help of the University of Chicago, the society brought the Checkerboard Lounge to Hyde Park and established the highly successful Sunday night jazz series; he helped create the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, which drew over 15,000 listeners in its second year; last year, the Jazz Society dedicated and permanently named the Midway Plaisance stage the James W. Wagner Center Stage; and

WHEREAS, Jim lived for his community, his music, and the civil rights of all people, but his first love was for his family: Almarie, his wife of 36 years and his daughters, Cecily and Cynthia; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of James Webb Wagner; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Jim Wagner as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.