Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a dear friend, great vocalist, entertainer, outstanding civic and community leader, and a solid member for many years of the Cook County Board of Commissioners with a primary focus on healthcare, Jerry Butler. Jerry was born in Sunflower, Mississippi, and his parents, like thousands of other Blacks, migrated to Chicago. As a matter of fact, we fondly sometimes call Chicago ``northern Mississippi.'' Jerry's family lived in the Cabrini-Green area, which was a large public housing development. That is where Jerry, Curtis Mayfield, and their friends, as young teenagers and young adults, sang spirituals and doo-wops, hung out, and had fun. They ultimately formed a group called The Roosters and then The Impressions. The Impressions were sensational. Jerry performed with them for a bit, and then he went solo. After leaving the group in 1960, Jerry achieved over 55 Billboard pop and rhythm and blues hits as a solo artist. Some of his top hits were ``He Will Break Your Heart,'' ``Let It Be Me,'' and ``Only the Strong Survive.'' Jerry cowrote the song ``For Your Precious Love,'' which is ranked No. 321 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Jerry was known as the Iceman. He even played a small role in a movie. Jerry was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 1985 and served there until he retired in 2018. {time} 1030 His last election was in 2014 in which he received 80 percent of the votes.…”