Bill Text: IL HR0629 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulates Lester H. McKeever Jr. on being named a 2024 Lincoln Laureate of the Order of Lincoln. Recognizes his service and dedication to the residents of Illinois.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-03-05 - Resolution Adopted [HR0629 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HR0629-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives wish to congratulate Lester H. McKeever Jr. on
the occasion of being named a 2024 Lincoln Laureate of the
Order of Lincoln; and
WHEREAS, Established in 1964, the Order of Lincoln is the
State's highest civilian honor for professional achievement
and public service, honoring Illinois residents whose work
uplifts every community in the State; and
WHEREAS, Lester McKeever, born and raised in Chicago, made
history in 1960 when he became the 60th Black Certified Public
Accountant (CPA) in the United States; today, he is a leader
across the industries of accounting, business, and finance;
and
WHEREAS, Lester McKeever began his undergraduate education
at the University of Illinois' short-lived Navy Pier satellite
campus before transferring to the University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, where he became a member of the Kappa Alpha
Psi Fraternity, Inc. and received his Bachelor of Science in
Accounting in 1955; he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1957,
serving for two years; he obtained his CPA license in 1960; he
later earned his Juris Doctor from the Illinois Institute of

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Technology's Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1971; and
WHEREAS, Lester McKeever began his accounting career at
the Unity Mutual Life Insurance Company and worked as a
part-time assistant during tax season for Mary T. Washington,
the first Black woman to earn her CPA license, who became his
mentor and introduced him to the accounting field; and
WHEREAS, After his military service, Lester McKeever
returned to accounting, taking a full-time position at Mary
Washington's firm, Washington and Pittman, which was
eventually renamed Washington, Pittman & McKeever and where he
was named managing partner in 1976; and
WHEREAS, Lester McKeever was appointed as board chairman
of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in 1997, a position he
held until 2001; and
WHEREAS, Lester McKeever has been a passionate civic
leader and advocate for increasing diversity in the accounting
profession, serving on the Finance Committee under Chicago
Mayors Harold Washington and Richard M. Daley and holding
leadership positions in a number of organizations, including
the American Association of Attorney-CPAs (AAA-CPA), the
Chicago Urban League, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, the Illinois CPA

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Society, the Illinois Institute of Technology, the
Metropolitan Planning Council, the National Society of Black
CPAs, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, and the
United Way of Metropolitan Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Lester McKeever has received a number of
accolades during his career, becoming the namesake of the
Lester H. McKeever Jr. Advancing Diversity Award by the
Illinois CPA Society in 2016 and receiving the Gold Medal
Award of Distinction by the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountant (AICPA) in 2018; and
WHEREAS, Lester McKeever and his fellow 2024 Lincoln
Laureates join more than 350 distinguished Illinois residents
of the Order of Lincoln since its inception, and they will be
honored at the 60th annual Convocation and Investiture at the
Chicago History Museum on April 13, 2024; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we congratulate Lester H. McKeever Jr. on being named a 2024
Lincoln Laureate of the Order of Lincoln, and we recognize his
service and dedication to the residents of Illinois; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be

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