Cecil A. Partee Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

Q: Yes.
A: And that's really what it's about, getting to have the respect of the
people so that if I came in and I had a candidate that I was very interested
in and they said, "Well, I don't like rhat guy," I said, "well, just: do it
for me." If I'll be doing something for them, fine; something they would
like, then they would support you. That's fine.
Q: How important were social organizations, such as the church, for example?
Which church did you belong to there?
A: I joined the Congregational church. I grew up in the Baptist church but
when I came to Chicago there was a newly formed Congregational church which
had as its minister a man I knew who had been dean of religion at Fisk
University in Nashville. I had attended his services there and I was enamored
of him as a minister. I joined the church on that basis, because he was the
minister. And I rdmained there. We've had a lot of very fine ministers
since, but I remained there. Although I grew up as a Baptist, I just went to
this church, really, on a personality basis of that minister.
Q: Do you still belong to that church?
A: Yes, I do.
Q: Did the church membership help you in your precinct work?
A: Well, not overly. I suppose some. There would be some people in your
precinct who were members of the same church you were, not an awful lot, but
some. Church membership also broadened your base of acquaintanceships,
Q: Were there other organizations at that time that you joined that helped you?
A: I didn't join any other organizations at that time, no. Though a lot of
lawyers would join the Masons, or this or this, I didn't. No, I didn't join
any other at that time, no.
Q: So this would have been about 1947, along in that period?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you recall the first case that you were involved with as assistant
district attorney?
A: No, I really don't. When I first went in the office I was assigned to the
fraud and complaint department where I had an office. I talked to people
about complaints rhat they desired to file and that they thought were criminal
against them by other people. We had a series of those and then I later was
sent up to the courts, but I don't remember the first complaints I ever heard.
I heard a lot of them.