Cecil A. Partee

Cecil Armillo Partee (April 10, 1921 – August 17, 1994) was a legislator and the first Black person to serve as president of the Illinois Senate and as Cook County State's Attorney. He served in both the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois State Senate. He served three terms as City Treasurer of Chicago.

Cecil A. Partee
Cook County State's Attorney
In office
April 24, 1989 – December 1, 1990
Preceded byRichard M. Daley
Succeeded byJack O'Malley
Chicago City Treasurer
In office
April 1979 – April 1989
Preceded byJoseph G. Bertand
Succeeded byMiriam Santos
President of the Illinois Senate
In office
January 8, 1975 – February 16, 1977
GovernorJames R. Thompson
Preceded byWilliam Harris
Succeeded byThomas Hynes
Member of the Illinois Senate
In office
1967–1977
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
In office
1957–1967
Personal details
Born(1921-04-10)April 10, 1921
Blytheville, Arkansas
DiedAugust 17, 1994(1994-08-17) (aged 73)
Chicago, Illinois
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Paris
ChildrenTwo
ResidenceChicago, Illinois
Alma materTennessee State University (B.A.)
Northwestern University (J.D.)
ProfessionAttorney

Early life and education

Born in Blytheville, Arkansas, Partee received his bachelor's degree from Tennessee State University and his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law in 1946.[1]

Political career

Illinois State House

He practiced law and was an assistant state's attorney. In 1956, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives as a Democrat. As a member of the House, he served on a special House committee on reapportionment, as chairman of an interim legislative committee that set up the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commission, and as chairman of the House Elections Committee.[1]

While in the House, Partee sponsored fair housing legislation.[2] He was also a leader in pursuing fair employment practices legislation.[1]

Illinois State Senate

In 1966, he was elected to the Illinois State Senate. In 1975, he was elected as President of the Illinois Senate, becoming the first black person to serve in that role and the first to head a state legislature anywhere in the United States since the end of Reconstruction.[1]

He ran for Illinois Attorney General in 1976 and won the Democratic Party nomination, but lost the general election to Republican William Scott.[1]

20th Ward Committeeman

During the 1970s, Partee served as Democratic Party committeeman for Chicago's 20th ward. He was credited in his Chicago Tribune obituary for playing an important role in helping Harold Washington win a close election for State Representative while in this position.[1]

City Treasurer of Chicago

In 1979, he successfully ran for City Treasurer of Chicago.[1] He won re-election twice and served in the office until 1989.[3]

Cook County State's Attorney

Partee was appointed State Attorney for Cook County on April 24, 1989 when Richard M. Daley was elected Mayor of Chicago. He was the first black person to serve in this office, and the last until Kim Foxx in 2016.[1] He lost a special election for the office to Republican candidate Jack O'Malley on November 6, 1990.

Death

Partee died of lung cancer in Chicago on August 17, 1994.[4][5]

References
  1. Heise, Kenan (August 17, 1994). "CECIL PARTEE, PIONEER IN POLITICS". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
  2. Grant, Keneshia Nicole (2020). The great migration and the Democratic party: Black voters and the realignment of American politics in the 20th century. Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-4399-1747-3. OCLC 1122682592.
  3. Dukmasova, Maya (March 28, 2019). "More money no problems". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
  4. "Cecil Partee. Memoir" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-27.
  5. Heise, Kenan (17 August 1994). "Cecil Partee, Pioneer In Politics". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 16 August 2011.


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