MEMORIAL RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF FEBRUARY 2, 2023
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MEMORIAL RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners celebrating the life of Larry R. Rogers Sr.
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WHEREAS, Larry Rogers Sr. built a long and acclaimed career as a trial attorney in Chicago, winning numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts, receiving multiple awards, and co-founding one of the most well-known personal injury firms in Chicago, Power Rogers, LLP; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rogers grew up in Roseland, raised with his six siblings by his mother after his father died. Mr. Rogers’ mother emphasized the importance of education, which led to Mr. Rogers receiving a philosophy degree from Saint Xavier University and then attending DePaul University College of Law; and
WHEREAS, while in law school and working at a gas station, Mr. Rogers met a customer named Joe Power, a young lawyer. The two became friends and later founded the law firm Power Rogers, LLP; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rogers eventually became a well-known trial lawyer in the field of personal injury, obtaining multimillion dollar verdicts for his clients, such as the $27 million verdict for his client against an infant formula company, which in 1985 was the largest personal injury verdict in Illinois history; and
WHEREAS, as an attorney actively involved in the legal community, Mr. Rogers served on the advisory board for Leading Lawyers Network and was elected president of both the Cook County Bar Association and the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, serving as the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association’s first African American president; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rogers also served as a trustee on the boards of DePaul University, John Marshall Law School, and Saint Xavier University. DePaul University College of Law now has a scholarship named in his honor for African American law students; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rogers received several awards over his 37-year career, including the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association’s Leonard M. Ring Lifetime Achievement Award and the Justice John Paul Stevens Award, the Chicago Bar Association’s highest award; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and our staff, do hereby extend our condolences to the family of Larry Rogers Sr.; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and that a copy of same, suitably engrossed, be presented to the family of Larry Rogers Sr.
Dated: February 2, 2023