[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 108 (Thursday, June 11, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2928-S2929]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING HECKY POWELL

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, even during this pandemic, people have 
been forming lines--6 feet apart and masked--at the corner of Emerson 
and Green Bay Road in Evanston, IL, to pick up Hecky's Barbeque. They 
come for the pulled pork, chicken wings, and especially the sauce. And 
for years, Hecky Powell was there with his family's recipes, his hard 
work, his smile, and his wisdom. Sadly, on May 22, Hecky passed away 
from pneumonia after a diagnosis of COVID-19. He used to say that 
people kept coming in for the sauce--that is what made the food great. 
Well, part of what made Evanston great was Hecky. For 37 years, he 
brought good barbeque, leadership, and kindness to Evanston, and today 
we pay tribute to him.
  Harry William ``Hecky'' Powell was born in 1948 at Cook County 
Hospital.

[[Page S2929]]

Verna, his mom, had to give birth there because there was no room at 
the Community Hospital of Evanston, the only hospital in town that 
accepted Black patients. Hecky was one of nine siblings. He had a 
successful career in public service, serving as the director of several 
nonprofit agencies.
  One day, Hecky got an idea for a restaurant. He was dating Cheryl 
Judice, a sociologist who would later become his wife. They didn't know 
much about food, but Hecky's mom did. Verna had lost her job at a 
restaurant, and his dad was unemployed at the time. So when the 
restaurant next to Hecky's office went on the market, he figured he 
would buy it, and his parents could actually run the restaurant. On 
October 13, 1983, Hecky's Barbeque opened up with only $100 in the 
register. Many of the first recipes came from Verna and his Creole 
grandmother's native New Orleans.
  Everyone enjoyed Hecky's. Chicago Bears legend William ``The 
Refrigerator'' Perry was an early customer, drawn to the sauce-drenched 
ribs, fries, and two slices of Wonder Bread. Chicago Bulls great 
Scottie Pippen had Hecky's cater the team's private plane on occasion. 
When the Northwestern Wildcats faced off with the University of 
Southern California Trojans in the Rose Bowl in 1996, then-mayor 
Lorraine Morton and Hecky bet the mayor of Pasadena that the Wildcats 
would win. The Trojans won 41 to 32, and Hecky made ribs and chicken 
for the entire Pasadena City Council.
  But it was more than a restaurant. Hecky used his place to help high 
school kids learn responsibility and social skills, giving many of them 
their first jobs. He worked long hours, starting early in the morning, 
but he always had fun. No task was too small. He was cook, cleaner, and 
manager alongside his mother and the kids he was mentoring.
  Hecky was a champion for local youth. In 1994, he founded the Forrest 
E. Powell Foundation. Named after his father, the foundation offers 
grant and scholarship opportunities. In 2016, he started the Evanston 
Work Ethic Program, which helps young people prepare for vocational or 
trade school.
  In 2011, Hecky left work early, thinking he had the flu. He made 
light of it, but his wife knew better. He later was diagnosed with 
liver failure and told he had 6 to 7 months to live.
  Hecky resolved that he was going to be fine and against tough odds, 
he lived to receive a liver transplant in 2015 and was able to get his 
life back. Hecky then joined the Northwestern Medicine Transplant 
Advisory Council Board to help people get their own lives back too.
  For all this work, Hecky received the key to the city of Evanston in 
2014, Abner Mikva Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015, and the street in 
front of the restaurant was officially renamed ``Hecky Powell Way.'' A 
person did not know Evanston until they experienced it with Hecky.
  When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Evanston, Hecky stepped up. 
Hecky's kept the whole staff on payroll and donated meals to hospital 
workers, shelters, and the Evanston Fire Departm. Hecky, as the 
unofficial mayor of Evanston, was the face of the community poster that 
read ``No Mask, No Sauce.''
  Evanston has lost a true leader of the community. He was kind and 
generous without ever asking anything in return. I was honored to count 
Hecky as a friend and enjoyed many great times together with him. 
Squeezing in a stop at Hecky's was part of every Evanston visit.
  This June 19, people will celebrate with Hecky's Juneteenth 
Strawberry pop. For years, Hecky was part of the Jubilee, celebrating 
the arrival of news in Galveston, TX, that the Civil War was over and 
President Lincoln had issued his Emancipation Proclamation. He was 
Evanston's biggest supporter of making Juneteenth a holiday. This year, 
Evanston has its first Juneteenth Parade, and Hecky was going to be a 
big part of it, so it is fitting that the community will be dedicating 
part of the celebration to him.
  Hecky is survived by his wife Cheryl, seven children, Sharmin, Terry, 
Dawn, Joy, Hecky Junior, Jason, and Gigi, as well as his mother and 
seven siblings.

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