Political Quotes

“On April 29, 1983, Justice Charles Freeman made history as the first African-American jurist to swear in Chicago's first, elected African-American mayor, Harold Washington. Justice Freeman went on to become the first, and so far the only, African- American justice to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court. During his more than four decades, Justice Freeman helped shape Illinois's history through his achievements, his jurisprudence, and his mentoring of a generation of new lawyers he guided to the bench. On March 2, he passed away, and I rise today to honor his memory. Charles Freeman was born in Richmond, VA, in 1933. He was descended from slaves freed by Quakers before the Civil War. As a child, he brought newspapers to legendary civil rights attorney Oliver W. Hill's office. His father was a hard-working man who loved to read and always stressed that he wanted Charles and his brother to become lawyers. The Freemans lived walking distance from Virginia Union University in Richmond, and that is where Charles and his brother went to college. Charles Freeman graduated from college in 1954 and served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1958, stationed in South Korea. After his service, he married Marylee Voelker and moved to Chicago. While in Chicago, he attended John Marshall Law School at night, and he worked for the Cook County Department of Public Aid. After law school, Justice Freeman started working as a precinct worker for former Representative Ralph H.…”