Cecil A. Partee

Cecil Armillo Partee (April 10, 1921 – August 17, 1994) was an American attorney and politician. He was the first African American to serve as president of the Illinois Senate and the first to serve as Cook County State's Attorney. He served in both the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois State Senate. He also served three terms as City Treasurer of Chicago.

Early life and education Born in Blytheville, Arkansas, Partee received his bachelor's degree from Tennessee State University and his J.D. degree from Northwestern University School of Law in 1946.

Political career

Illinois State House He practiced law and was an assistant state's attorney. In 1956, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives as a Democrat. As a member of the House, he served on a special House committee on reapportionment, as chairman of an interim legislative committee that set up the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commission, and as chairman of the House Elections Committee. He was also a leader in pursuing fair employment practices legislation.

Cook County State's Attorney Partee was appointed State's Attorney for Cook County on April 24, 1989, when Richard M. Daley was elected Mayor of Chicago. He was the first black person to serve in this office, and the last until Kim Foxx won election in 2016.