Press Releases

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Befitting the final day of Black History Month, State Senator Emil Jones, III (D-Chicago) passed a resolution out of the Senate which designates the bridge located at 99th and 100th Streets and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Rosemoor and Roseland Heights as the "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge."

King, who rose to national prominence in the late 1950’s by organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycotts in Alabama during a time when Jim Crow segregation laws flourished in the southern states, was recently memorialized with a statue on the National Mall in Washington D.C. 

“The community has spoken,” said Senator Jones. “Dr. King dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of the most disenfranchised and underserved Americans, it’s only right that we honor his name by placing it on the bridge connecting these two neighborhoods.”

Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.

“There’s no way we can pay Dr. King back for his contribution to society, but we can pay our respect by memorializing his name,” Jones added.

The resolution will also have to be adopted by the Illinois House of Representatives before it can officially take effect.

New Law will Help Small Cemeteries Stay Open

Springfield, IL –In 2009, scandal rocked the Chicago-area African American community when authorities learned that Burr Oak Cemetery had been reusing human graves and callously discarding human remains.  In response, the Illinois General Assembly passed sweeping cemetery regulation reforms.  However, soon after the reforms became law, it became clear that they were so strict that small, private cemeteries would be forced to close their doors.  State Senator Emil Jones, III (D-Chicago), a proponent of the original bill quickly began working with cemetery owners to find a reasonable solution.  His compromise became law Monday.

Jones Legislation Reduces Overbearing Provision on Cemeteries
Senate Bill 1830 reshapes the Cemetery Oversight Act to help Smaller Cemeteries

Springfield, IL – Today, Senator Emil Jones III (D-Chicago) passed historic cemetery legislation that rescinds caustic measures that cornered the cemetery industry. Senate Bill 1830 increases the types of cemeteries that are eligible for either full or partial exemption from the cemetery oversight legislation passed in 2009.

“I’m pleased that our efforts to undue overreaching provisions has been accomplished,” Senator Emil Jones III said. “The Illinois cemetery industry has consistently voiced the need for legislation that protects the industry and citizens. We have finally found a reasonable solution.”

The contemptuous regulations in the original cemetery oversight legislation was in response to the events that occurred in 2009 at Burr Oak Cemetery when at least 300 bodies were illegally dug up and discarded so that their gravesites could be resold. Burr Oak is a historic cemetery that houses the remains of several celebrated African American’s that made large contributions to society including Emmitt Till.