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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING REVEREND CLYDE BROOKS AS A DISTINGUISHED BLACK LEADER
WHEREAS, Reverend Clyde Brooks currently serves as the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Illinois Commission on Diversity and Human Relations (ICDHR); and,
WHEREAS, Reverend Brooks, long a champion of justice and equality, served as a National Board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; and,
WHEREAS, Reverend Brooks has long been instrumental in the movement to create affordable housing in the Northwest Suburbs of Cook County, serving on the board of the Northwest Opportunity Center in the 1960s; and,
WHEREAS, Reverend Brooks has served as the National Director for Fair Labor and Equal Employment Opportunity for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association; and,
WHEREAS, Reverend Brooks has helped to build a number of organizations, including Behavior Research in the Social Sciences (BRASS) and the Minority Economic Resources Corporation, serving as that organization’s Chairman and CEO for more than 30 years; and,
WHEREAS, Reverend Brooks served on the faculty of Harper College and was the first African American to teach African American History at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary; and,
WHEREAS, Reverend Brooks has a long history working with law enforcement and corrections. He served as a probation officer and a law enforcement officer, retiring after 20 years as a Deputy Sheriff. He served on the Mount Prospect Fire and Police Commission, Reverend Brooks was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, The Illinois Commission on Human Rights, and served as a consultant to the Illinois Department of Corrections; and,
WHEREAS, Reverend Brooks served as a member of the Chicago Commission on Youth Welfare and as a teacher and high school counselor; and,
WHEREAS, Reverend Brooks received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Western Illinois University; and,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the residents of Cook County, recognizes Reverend Clyde Brooks as a distinguished Black leader in our community during Black History Month; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this Resolution be tendered to Reverend Brooks, as a token of the esteem in which he is held by the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
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