Bill Text: IL SR0818 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulates Victory Bell of Rockford on his 90th birthday. Thanks him for his service and dedication to the citizens of Rockford and the State. Wishes him many more happy and healthy years.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-04-12 - Resolution Adopted [SR0818 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SR0818-Introduced.html

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SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to
congratulate Victory Bell of Rockford on the occasion of his
90th birthday; and
WHEREAS, Victory Bell, the son of Bea Bell and Gladys
Thompson, was born in Durant, Mississippi on March 7, 1934; he
and his family moved to Rockford, Illinois in 1945, where he
attended Montague Elementary School and graduated from West
High School in 1953; he married his wife, Carol, on November
21, 1981, and they had six children, Jeffery, Gregory, Victor,
Michelle, Roger, and Bradley; and
WHEREAS, Soon after graduating high school, Victory Bell
began working at the Illinois Bell Telephone Company, starting
as a janitor before being promoted to supply clerk in 1964 and
material supply in 1966; he then became an installer with the
Installation Department, and he was soon promoted to plant
dispatcher in 1969 and then manager of installations in 1970;
he concluded his career after 33 years of service, retiring in
1987; he later served as a manager at the Illinois Secretary of
State Facility in Rockford; and
WHEREAS, Victory Bell began his long political career as a
precinct committeeman in 1962, and he was active on the

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Winnebago County Political Action Committee; he was elected to
serve as alderman of the 5th Ward on the Rockford City Council
in 1971, becoming the first African American to be elected
alderman in Rockford; he served in that position for 38 years,
and he was noted as one of the longest-serving alderpersons in
the State; and
WHEREAS, During his tenure on the Rockford City Council,
Victory Bell provided a strong voice for minority rights while
preserving his calm and dignified demeanor, and he was
credited with elevating minority ranks in Rockford's police,
fire, and public works departments and within State boards and
commissions; he was instrumental in promoting county board
members, and he assisted Mayor Bob McGaw with his succeessful
election in 1970; he was also integral in the completion of
Central Avenue from Ogilby Road to Preston Street, linking
southwest to northwest Rockford, in the 1980s; and
WHEREAS, Victory Bell was featured as one of the Rockford
Register Star's 100 People of the Century in 1999; and
WHEREAS, Victory Bell is a member of the NAACP; and
WHEREAS, Victory Bell will celebrate his 90th birthday on
March 7, 2024; therefore, be it

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RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate
Victory Bell on celebrating his 90th birthday, thank him for
his service and dedication to the citizens of Rockford and the
State, and wish him many more happy and healthy years; and be
it further