How racism, reform and grace shaped Jesse White's long career as IL secretary of state twill
He's fought racism and corruption, inspired thousands of young people and managed an office serving 8.7 million drivers.
"I've had the great pleasure of serving for 24 years," said White, who is Illinois' longest-serving secretary of state. "I was raised up in an integrated environment. ... The high school I attended was a combination of Blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians, and we all got along well." MLK's advice Times were changing, however. And at church, White met the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who helped lead the Montgomery bus boycott after Rosa Parks' Dec. 1, 1955, arrest for refusing to sit in the rear of the bus.
In his senior year of college, the Chicago Cubs recruited White for a tryout. Hundreds of players showed up; the baseball organization signed five -- including White.It was another new world for Pvt. White. A chance encounter with a 101st Airborne Division sergeant, who"jumped 10 feet" after learning about White's contract with the Cubs, steered him to paratrooper training.
Amid the pushup ordeal, leaping out of a plane was nothing."It gets to a point where it's like putting on a pair of shoes," White explained. With the Salt Lake City Bees, a AAA team, and a batting average of .291, White was"a heartbeat from the majors" when racism once again intervened. In 1974, White was encouraged to run for state representative and served in the General Assembly through 1996, when voters elected him Cook County recorder of deeds.
White walked into a minefield and enlisted former U.S. Attorney Jim Burns to help clean house and restore confidence in the tarnished department.
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