Cecil A. Partee Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield
Cecil A. Partee Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield Cecil A. Partee Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield
A: Of course, I knew. Corneal Davis. A: And Fred Smith . . . and a fellow by the name of Kenneth Wilson. 1 suppose I knew them better than I did anybody else. Except this. You see, I had been eight years in the state's attorney's office and there were some legislators I came in contact with through the courts that I would have known, yes. Q: What I was driving at was, when you first arrived down there, how did you go about ].earning the process of legislation? Or were you pretty familiar with that before you went down? A: No, there were some guides like--not a book but maybe a brochure that explained some of the things. The --- Blue Book has a section In it on how a bill passes and how the legislature functions and that sort of thing and I had read all of that. Q: The Legislative Council .now has an introductory . . . , A: Course. Yes, but they didn't have it at that time, or certainly not as sophisticated or elongated. Q: So you were kind of on your own as to figuring out exac*tly what you were going to do. A: We got a lot of guidance, in particular from Carneal Davis. Q: Oh? What types of things did he alert you to? A: Oh, about making sure that you thoroughly understood the hill before you voted on it and not popping off on every question, which undermines your effectiveness. Sometimes you can talk so often down there that when you get up, people don't listen. If you talk less often and you know what you're talking about, you get more of an audience and you get more appreciation of what you say and more support of what you said. That kind of thing. Q: Would you say you got most of your information, then, from Mr. Davis? A: Oh, 1 got more information from him than I did from anyone else. I got a lot of information by reading and by watching and listening and observing. Q: How long, after that first day you arrived down there, did you go into the session or start your work? A: We had session the first day I was there. Q: What was that . . . A: They open up the session and then they pay you. First job I've ever been on
where they paid you far two years the first day you got there. (laughter) Q: Do you recall that first day? What happened on the first day? A: Oh, nothing significant. I guess we were in the process of organizing, I guess, and electing our speaker and so forth. Q; Were you assigned a seat? A: You're assigned a seat. T got a seat beside my friend Kenny Wilson who came from the next district up, the 21st. He had been in the legislature two years earlier, so it was a good spot for me because he was knowledgeable, Be is now an appellate court judge. He*s s very knowledgeable fellow and I got a lot of help from him. Q: And which committees were you assigned to in the organization? A: Now, that I cannot remember. I would have to go back to the . . . Q: Letts see, you were on the insurance committee, I believe, weren't you? A: I'm not sure of that. See, after twenty years it's kind of difficult to point out what committees you were on on a particular year, because they've been up and down. Q: I see. A: I think . . . think I was on cities and villages. See, then, too, the names have changed over the years, too. Q: Yes, sir, That would be municipalities now, I gueqs. A: It might have been municipalities then, I don't know. Municipalities in the House, then. See, I have been in the House and Senate and the structure's different, so--1 tell you, on those kind of questions, I would really rather that we go to the books because it's laid out there, the committees. Q: What I'm trying to do is get a feel for what you felt that first day and dllring this organization. Was it confusing? A: No, it's never been confusing to me. I understood what was going on and what the plans were. No, I never was confused at any time about any of it, including the first day. Q: In regard to the committees, were you involved at all in the committees that you were assigned to serve on? A: In other words, was I in the day-to-day world on those committees? One, I know I was. I was involved in the judiciary committee, I was assigned to the judiciary committee, which is a committee on which only lawyers could serve at that time. We were concerned wlth the laws, with reference to the
- Page 49 and 50: A: Beautiful. I stayed in the dormi
- Page 51 and 52: A: I didn't know any of them until
- Page 53 and 54: A: Well, just like going out for th
- Page 55 and 56: 4 1 SESSION 3, TAPE 3, SIDE 1 Q: I
- Page 57 and 58: yourself and so forth. Whereas, in
- Page 59 and 60: A: Yes, I remember a fellow by the
- Page 61 and 62: six inches, into my leg. And just m
- Page 63 and 64: Q: And you're still in touch with t
- Page 65 and 66: A: But they said, "You can go somew
- Page 67 and 68: Q: How did you get back and forth?
- Page 69 and 70: just on the weekend which was a lot
- Page 71 and 72: A: Well, I was there for about a ye
- Page 73 and 74: old fellow told me that he's from t
- Page 75 and 76: We tried to get a decision between
- Page 77 and 78: 63 Abraham Lincoln Hotel and we wer
- Page 79 and 80: Q: That had already finished? A: No
- Page 81 and 82: legislation, I think one day what I
- Page 83 and 84: A: No, that was about two years bef
- Page 85 and 86: A: Yes. q: Did she continue active
- Page 87 and 88: Q: Was this in replacement of Mr. C
- Page 89 and 90: Filipino or some man may be married
- Page 91 and 92: deal of controversy about them. Q:
- Page 93 and 94: well paying jobs but they had to do
- Page 95 and 96: joined other organizations for the
- Page 97 and 98: A: Generally just before an electio
- Page 99: A: No, I don't think we had opposit
- Page 103 and 104: BLACK DEMOCRATS IN THE 77TH ILLINOI
- Page 105 and 106: CECIL PARTEE AT WORK IN THE SENATE
- Page 107 and 108: A: No, it was the Legislative Refer
- Page 109 and 110: Q: Well! (laughter) A: Yes, didn't
- Page 111 and 112: esearch if you needed it? A: Bill I
- Page 113 and 114: started from nothing. Q: Did that o
- Page 115 and 116: A: Well, not specifically as to the
- Page 117 and 118: for that. About 1968, Chicago start
- Page 119 and 120: he was there. We joined him in 1967
- Page 121 and 122: years and for many many years it fa
- Page 123 and 124: of that nature. But other than that
- Page 125 and 126: A: No, I do not. Q: Why were yau co
- Page 127 and 128: the word I seek now is . . . quota
- Page 129 and 130: the 1965 Civil Rights Act at the fe
- Page 131 and 132: matter of fact--with the head of th
- Page 133 and 134: served or rehabilitated as well as
A: Of course, I knew. Corneal Davis.<br />
A: And Fred Smith . . . and a fellow by the name <strong>of</strong> Kenneth Wilson. 1<br />
suppose I knew them better than I did anybody else. Except this. You see,<br />
I had been eight years in the state's attorney's <strong>of</strong>fice and there were some<br />
legislators I came in contact with through the courts that I would have<br />
known, yes.<br />
Q: What I was driving at was, when you first arrived down there, how did you<br />
go about ].earning the process <strong>of</strong> legislation? Or were you pretty familiar<br />
with that before you went down?<br />
A: No, there were some guides like--not a book but maybe a brochure that<br />
explained some <strong>of</strong> the things. The --- Blue Book has a section In it on how a bill<br />
passes and how the legislature functions and that sort <strong>of</strong> thing and I had read<br />
all <strong>of</strong> that.<br />
Q: The Legislative Council .now has an introductory . . . ,<br />
A: Course. Yes, but they didn't have it at that time, or certainly not as<br />
sophisticated or elongated.<br />
Q: So you were kind <strong>of</strong> on your own as to figuring out exac*tly what you were<br />
going to do.<br />
A: We got a lot <strong>of</strong> guidance, in particular from Carneal Davis.<br />
Q: Oh? What types <strong>of</strong> things did he alert you to?<br />
A: Oh, about making sure that you thoroughly understood the hill before you<br />
voted on it and not popping <strong>of</strong>f on every question, which undermines your<br />
effectiveness. Sometimes you can talk so <strong>of</strong>ten down there that when you get<br />
up, people don't listen. If you talk less <strong>of</strong>ten and you know what you're<br />
talking about, you get more <strong>of</strong> an audience and you get more appreciation <strong>of</strong><br />
what you say and more support <strong>of</strong> what you said. That kind <strong>of</strong> thing.<br />
Q: Would you say you got most <strong>of</strong> your information, then, from Mr. Davis?<br />
A: Oh, 1 got more information from him than I did from anyone else. I got a<br />
lot <strong>of</strong> information by reading and by watching and listening and observing.<br />
Q: How long, after that first day you arrived down there, did you go into the<br />
session or start your work?<br />
A: We had session the first day I was there.<br />
Q: What was that . . .<br />
A: They open up the session and then they pay you. First job I've ever been on
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