Terrel Clarke :::
Terrel Clarke
Graduated in 1938
Inducted in 1997
A 1938 graduate, Terrel "Tee" Clarke earned a bachelor's degree in Finance from the university of Colorado in 1942 and was awarded a master's degree in Business Administration by Harvard University in 1946. He served as an Army staff sergeant during World War II, then briefly taught at the University of Kansas. In 1956, Clarke began his career in the Illinois legislature. He served 10 years each in the Illinois House and Illinois Senate. Recognized as a fiscal expert, Sen. Clarke served as chairman of the Illinois House Revenue Committee and later of the Illinois Senate Revenue Committee, making him the only legislator ever to chair both committees. He was chairman of the Joint Committee on Revenue Reform and the Joint Committee on Real Property Tax. In 1966 he helped create and then headed the "Little Hoover Commission" to study state government. He was Republican committeeman for Lyons Township for 16 years. His service in local government affairs and to the people of Illinois were recognized as exemplary. Among his awards as a legislator include a Presidential Citation awarded by the Illinois Association of School Administrators in 1974, as well as an Illinois Fair Employment Practice Commission Citation for his efforts on behalf of Equal Opportunity Employment. In 1975 lie was awarded a Chicago Crime Commission Certificate of Commendation for his service to the people of Illinois and a Legislative Award by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1976 Clarke retired from the Illinois State Senate and was named to the Who's Who in the Midwest. Before his death in July 1997, he led the Citizens Concerned About Taxation, a local, grass roots watch-dog group keeping an eye on municipality spending and its effect on taxation.