[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 21, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4502-S4503]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               LEGACY OF CHICAGO'S ARTURO VELASQUEZ, SR.

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, at the start of the Great Depression, a

[[Page S4503]]

Mexican immigrant mother in Gary, IN, found herself with no job, no 
money and no food. So she did the only think she could think of: She 
decided to pack up her young son and move back to Mexico, where they 
would at least have something to eat.
  Fortunately for the city of Chicago, which I am honored to represent, 
the old Model T Ford they rode in overturned near Albuquerque, leaving 
them stranded without money.
  The mother took a job as a farm worker and they began migrating 
between sugar beet fields in the Black Hills of South Dakota and tomato 
farms in Minnesota and Iowa.
  Eventually, they landed in Chicago.
  Over the next seven decades, that little boy, Arturo Velasquez, would 
become a civic treasure in Chicago: an entrepreneur, philanthropist, 
activist, advisor to Chicago's leaders, and patriarch of one of 
Chicago's leading Hispanic families.
  Arturo Velasquez was dedicated to his family, his church, his 
business, and the city of Chicago, especially the Mexican American 
community on Chicago's South Side.
  This past Friday, Mr. Velasquez passed on at the age of 93. But his 
influence will live on in the people he inspired, the lives he helped 
change, and the opportunities he helped create for so many.
  Mr. Velasquez was a gracious man. He was also humble. He used to 
describe himself as a ``jukebox operator.''
  In fact, he owned one of Chicago's largest music and game firms, 
Velasquez Automated Music Co, which he founded more than 70 years ago. 
It is run today by his son Ed and daughter Maria Elena.
  In 1970, Mr. Velasquez helped another son, Art, found Azteca Foods, 
Inc; which supplies thousands of groceries and restaurants with 
tortillas and other food products.
  He played a key role in the establishment of the Mexican American 
Chamber of Commerce, the Azteca Lions Club, the Illinois Federation of 
Mexican Americans and many other business and civic groups.
  Formal education was a luxury for Mr. Velasquez, as it is for many 
children of migrant workers.
  He attended 13 different grade schools and he never went to high 
school. But he was a strong advocate for education.
  He was determined that all five of his children would graduate from 
college, and they did.
  He also worked tirelessly for decades to provide other young people, 
especially Mexican Americans, with the educational opportunities he 
himself never received.
  He served as a trustee for two colleges: the City Colleges of Chicago 
and National Louis University.
  And a year ago, Chicago City Colleges' West Side Technical Institute, 
which Mr. Velasquez supported strongly, was renamed in his honor.
  Arturo Velasquez continues to help others, even now.
  His family asks that anyone wishing to honor his memory donate to two 
causes that were important to him.
  The first is the City Colleges of Chicago Foundation for Scholarships 
to the Arturo Velasquez West Side Technical Institute, a scholarship 
fund for Latinos in the 2-year technical education program who want to 
go on to 4-year colleges.
  The second cause is Alivio Medical Center, near and dear to my heart, 
a community health center, founded by Mr. Velasquez's daughter Carmen, 
that provides free health care to thousands of Chicago families each 
year in the mostly Latino Pilsen, Little Village and Back of the Yards 
neighborhoods.
  I cannot tell you how impressed I am with Carmen and her work at 
Alivio. The fact that her father inspired her and now wants to continue 
helping her, even in his passing, says a lot about the family.
  Mr. Velasquez received many well-deserved accolades including an 
honorary doctorate for public service from St. Xavier University, and 
the Ohtl Award from the Mexican government, the highest award to a 
Mexican who lives outside that country.
  And in 2002, he was honored by the Chicago Historical Society with 
its Making History Award.
  But what meant most to Mr. Velasquez was his family.
  He and his wife Shirley were married for 72 years. They were blessed 
with five children, 11 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
  As a young father, Mr. Velasquez dreamed of being able to provide his 
family with a home of their own.
  It took a while. He bought an empty lot at 72nd Street and St. Louis 
Avenue in 1945. But he did not build a house on it until 1950.
  Mrs. Velasquez once told a reporter, ``Every Sunday he would take the 
kids to the empty lot. He'd tell them, `Go jump on it. It's yours.' And 
I'd say, Can't you think of any other place to go?''
  In 1959, Mr. Velasquez covered the White Sox for a Spanish-language 
newspaper. That year, the Sox won their first division pennant in 40 
years, only to lose the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
  In 2005, he saw his great-grandson Willy throw out the first pitch 
during Game 2 of the division series.
  He had tickets to every game of the playoffs.
  And he saw his beloved White Sox, at last, win the World Series, 
another dream come true for a man who made the dreams of so many others 
possible.
  I want to express my deep condolences to his wife Shirley, their 
children, Art, Raymond, Carmen, Maria Elena and Edward, and their 
grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
  Arturo Velasquez was a gracious and generous man and a true community 
leader. He will be greatly missed.

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