HR0667

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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
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Representatives are saddened to  learn of the death of
Ellis E. 
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Reid III of Chicago, who passed away on August 7, 2007; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Ellis E. Reid III was born in Bronzeville and grew 
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up in Woodlawn and Park Manor; he graduated from Englewood High 
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School, then attended the University of Illinois at 
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Urbana-Champaign, where he received his bachelor's degree in 
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1956; and he received his law degree from the University of 
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Chicago Law School in 1959; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Ellis E. Reid III was a well-known and respected 
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attorney and judge throughout the Chicago area; he successfully 
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prosecuted the case against former State's Attorney Edward 
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Hanrahan and police officers accused of wrongdoing in a raid 
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that left two Black Panthers dead; in 1970, he successfully 
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argued in federal court to overturn a Chicago ordinance which 
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prevented women from making drinks unless they had a liquor 
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license or were related to someone who did; he served as a 
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judge in the Cook County Circuit Court's 1st Municipal District 
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in Chicago from 1985 to 2000; he also served as a Justice in 
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the Illinois Appellate Court, 1st District, 5th Division from 
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2000 to 2004, serving as the court's presiding justice from  
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2004 to 2005; and

 
 


 






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    WHEREAS, Ellis E. Reid III also represented various 
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organizations; among them, he served as General Counsel to 
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Local 453 of the United Auto Workers, AFL-CIO from 1960 to 
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1972; he served as General Counsel to Local 1006 of the 
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American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, 
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AFL-CIO from 1976 to 1983; and he was a member of and served as 
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long-time General Counsel to the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, 
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Inc.; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Ellis E. Reid III was involved with many law-based 
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organizations, including the Illinois Judges Association, the  
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Appellate Lawyers Association, the National Bar Association, 
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the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Chicago Inn of 
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Court; he was a former President of the Illinois Judicial 
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Council; and he was a former President of the Cook County Bar 
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Association, the first African-American bar association in the 
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country; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Ellis E. Reid III had an intense love of the law 
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and had an interest in mentoring young law students; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Ellis E. Reid III is by survived his wife, Sheila; 
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his sons, Ellis E. Reid IV and David Reid; his daughter, 
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Noelle; his siblings, Betty Baugh, Virginia Nichols, and Harry 
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Reid; and his four grandchildren; therefore, be it

 
 


 






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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Ellis 
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E. Reid III; 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 Ellis E. Reid III as an expression 
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of our sympathy.