Danny Davis: “I have sat and listened and been thrilled and delighted and smiled hearing all of the accolades that have been bestowed…”

“I have sat and listened and been thrilled and delighted and smiled hearing all of the accolades that have been bestowed upon Bill Clay as he prepares to retire, and I agree with everything that I have heard. It occurred to me as I listened, though, that I knew Bill Clay perhaps better than I did any Member of Congress, other than those from Chicago, in terms of being way back, and that is because St. Louis is so close to Chicago. We used to call it the big city, and felt we were one of the suburban communities of St. Louis. But Bill Clay has always represented a large urban area, which is not always the easiest to represent. There are large numbers of low-income people, people who are searching and seeking. In many instances in the Midwest and the north there are people who migrated from southern areas of the country, and so I know it well. The thing that has impressed me the most about the gentleman from Missouri is that the same comments that we hear from his colleagues in the House we also hear from the people on the streets in St. Louis. I have never met a person in St. Louis who did not feel that they knew Bill Clay.”