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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of James K. | ||||||
| 4 | Polk of Peoria, who passed away on November 8, 2016; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, James Polk was born in Memphis, Tennessee to | ||||||
| 6 | Charlie and Nellie (Jones) Polk on June 13, 1939; he moved to | ||||||
| 7 | Peoria in 1943 and graduated from Peoria High School in 1957, | ||||||
| 8 | where he was an All-State basketball player; he attended | ||||||
| 9 | community college and married Virginia Kyle, Patricia Stokes, | ||||||
| 10 | and Patti; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, James Polk worked for General Motors in California | ||||||
| 12 | from 1961 to 1967; after returning to Peoria, he worked for | ||||||
| 13 | CILCO and ran the YWCA Ashanti Umojia Youth Center before | ||||||
| 14 | joining Caterpillar in 1974; he retired from Caterpillar in | ||||||
| 15 | 1986 and founded several businesses, including the Balance | ||||||
| 16 | Stone Strategies Group; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, James Polk was a member of the Peoria County Board | ||||||
| 18 | from 1972 to 1976 and from 1982 to 1985; he was a Peoria City | ||||||
| 19 | Councilman for the First District from 1985 to 1993; he was the | ||||||
| 20 | first African American to run and win those positions; he | ||||||
| 21 | served on the Illinois Central College Board of Trustees, | ||||||
| 22 | beginning in 1997 with eight years in leadership positions; he | ||||||
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| 1 | served on the Board of Trustees Greater Peoria Mass | ||||||
| 2 | Transit-City Link from 2007 to just recently; he was on the | ||||||
| 3 | Tri-County Regional Planning Commission for 10 years, serving | ||||||
| 4 | as past Chairman; he was involved with Illinois Central | ||||||
| 5 | College, CityLink, the Peoria Civic Center Authority, the Boys & | ||||||
| 6 | Girls Clubs of America, the American Community College | ||||||
| 7 | Trustee Association, and the Tri-County Regional Planning | ||||||
| 8 | Commission; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, James Polk helped Carol Moseley Braun in her | ||||||
| 10 | election to the United States Senate as the first black female | ||||||
| 11 | senator, serving as downstate Chairman for her United States | ||||||
| 12 | Senate campaign; he was twice elected to the National | ||||||
| 13 | Democratic Convention and served as a consultant to Chicago | ||||||
| 14 | Mayor Harold Washington; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, James Polk was a recipient of the 2015 Peoria Area | ||||||
| 16 | Chamber of Commerce Tom Connor Service Award, the 2015 Peoria | ||||||
| 17 | Magazines Local Legends, and the 2006 Dr. Martin Luther King | ||||||
| 18 | Commemorative Service Leadership Award; in 2014, he was | ||||||
| 19 | inducted into the African American Hall of Fame; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, James Polk was a member of the Mt. Zion Baptist | ||||||
| 21 | Church, the Peoria Downtown Rotary Club, and the NAACP, where | ||||||
| 22 | he served as Vice-President; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, James Polk was preceded in death by his son, Kevin | ||||||
| 2 | Polk; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, James Polk is survived by his wife of 17 years, | ||||||
| 4 | Patti; his children, Karen (Billy) Raymond, Jonelle (Daniel) | ||||||
| 5 | McCloud, and Rebecca Polk; his stepchildren, Anika (Henry) | ||||||
| 6 | Florez, and Joshua (Gina) Sterling; his brother, Sam (Jean) | ||||||
| 7 | Polk; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren; | ||||||
| 8 | therefore, be it
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| 9 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 10 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 11 | mourn the passing of James K. Polk, and extend our sincere | ||||||
| 12 | condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved | ||||||
| 13 | him; and be it further
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| 14 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 15 | presented to the family of James Polk as an expression of our | ||||||
| 16 | deepest sympathy.
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