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1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3 to learn of the death of Robert L. Anderson Sr., who passed
4 away on January 24, 2023; and
5 WHEREAS, Robert Anderson was born to Talmitch and Virginia
6 Anderson in Greenwood, Mississippi on January 26, 1940; he and
7 his family moved to Chicago in 1946; he attended Douglass
8 Elementary School and Dunbar Vocational High School; he earned
9 his bachelor's degree in education from Chicago State
10 University; and
11 WHEREAS, Robert Anderson became a teacher at Harrison
12 Technical High School in the South Lawndale neighborhood of
13 Chicago, where he met Johnnie Mae, and they married on August
14 21, 1965; and
15 WHEREAS, Robert Anderson earned his law degree from Kent
16 College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology in
17 1973; he became an attorney with the State's Employment
18 Security Department; and
19 WHEREAS, Robert Anderson was appointed as a member of the
20 late Mayor Harold Washington's sub-cabinet in 1985, being
21 named as deputy mayor and serving as a confidential advisor
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1 and attorney to Mayor Washington; during his tenure, he worked
2 with various city agencies and departments to better the
3 quality of life for all Chicagoans and was directly
4 responsible for a number of important projects, including the
5 O'Hare Development Project, the construction of a direct L
6 train connection to O'Hare International Airport, the
7 Southwest Transit Project, and capital improvement programs to
8 repair aging streets and sewers throughout the City of
9 Chicago; he also helped design the Chicago "remap" and
10 assisted in a case that led Mayor Washington to gain control
11 over the Chicago City Council; his work helped pave the way for
12 Blacks to be appointed to both the Chicago City Council and the
13 Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners; and
14 WHEREAS, Robert Anderson then cofounded the Chicago-based
15 law firm Krohn, Jenkins & Anderson; he served as a legal
16 advisor to Bryn Mawr West Community Council, the Task Force
17 for Black Political Empowerment, and the Jackie Robinson West
18 Little League; and
19 WHEREAS, Robert Anderson served as an executive staff
20 member of the Chicago Urban League, where he helped shape
21 policy and implement programs; his skills as an educator were
22 utilized to direct Job Corps training programs; he was also
23 known for lending a hand to help various community members in
24 finding jobs and other resources; and
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1 WHEREAS, Robert Anderson was instrumental in the
2 development of the Chicago Public Library's Harold Washington
3 Archives and Collections by creating the Mayoral Records
4 Infrastructure Sub-Cabinet Series; and
5 WHEREAS, Robert Anderson committed to his faith at a young
6 age; as a teenager, he joined Second Mount Vernon M.B. Church,
7 where he served the church community as resident attorney
8 later in life; and
9 WHEREAS, In his retirement years, Robert Anderson enjoyed
10 caring for his six grandsons and attending their various
11 events and celebrating their achievements; and
12 WHEREAS, Robert Anderson, affectionately known as "The
13 People's Attorney", stood strong in service to his faith,
14 family, people, and community throughout his life as a son, a
15 husband, a father, a servant, an intellectual, and an
16 activist; he will be remembered for leaving a legacy of love,
17 kindness, grace, integrity, faith, family, and strength; and
18 WHEREAS, Robert Anderson was preceded in death by his
19 parents; his brothers, Horace C., John Edward Sr., Frank, and
20 Gus; and his sister, Patricia Ann Williams; and
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1 WHEREAS, At the time of his passing, Robert Anderson was
2 survived by his wife, Johnnie Mae Anderson; his sons, Ivan
3 Clisby and Robert L. (Patrice) Anderson Jr.; his daughters,
4 Gail Clisby and Alison Anderson Wright; his brother, Talmitch
5 Anderson; his sister, Theresia Jackson; his grandsons, Jordan
6 Jeffery Washington, Robert Malik Anderson, Ethan Jeremiah
7 Anderson, Zachary Langston Anderson, Wynton Terrence Wright,
8 and Myles Joshua Wright; and a host of nieces, nephews,
9 great-nieces, great-nephews, family, and friends; therefore,
10 be it
11 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
12 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
13 Robert L. Anderson Sr. and extend our sincere condolences to
14 his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
15 further
16 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17 presented to the family of Robert Anderson as an expression of
18 our deepest sympathy.
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