Honoring James J. Binns for his Years of Practice in the Philadelphia Legal Community his Support of the City's Charitable Institutions and the Establishment of the Hero Plaque Program Commemorating Police and Firefighters Killed in the Line of Duty.

WHEREAS, James J. Binns is a lifelong Philadelphian who graduated with honors from LaSalle University and the Villanova School of Law; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Binns has practiced law in Philadelphia and around the country for more than 43 years; and

WHEREAS, He is licensed to practice law in twenty states and is admitted to the Federal Courts of every state where he is licensed including admittance to all eleven Circuit Courts in the nation and the U.S. Supreme Court; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Binns’ practice area includes white-collar defense and entertainment- related litigation and some of his high profile cases include representing Muhammad Ali and some of those charged in the Philadelphia Corruption Probe; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Binns is the former Boxing Commissioner and a member of the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame where he was initially appointed by Governor Richard Thornburgh and reappointed by Democratic Governor Robert P. Casey; and

WHEREAS, He enjoys celebrity status for his roles in the major motion pictures

Rocky V

and

Rocky Balboa

; and

WHEREAS, His support of charitable institutions in the City of Philadelphia includes endowing scholastic scholarships at St. Paul’s Parochial School, Roman Catholic High School and LaSalle University where he endowed the James J. Binns Fitness Center; and

WHEREAS, He has served as a director of the Prisoner’s Family Welfare Fund, Boy Scouts of America, Police Athletic League, Berean Institute and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Binns established the

Hero Plaque Program

commemorating police officer who were killed in the line of duty; and

WHEREAS, The program has commemorated more than two hundred and seventy deceased Philadelphia Police Officers placing, plaques at the locations where the fallen officers met with their deaths; and

WHEEREAS, The program has received national recognition; and

WHEREAS, He established an identical program to commemorate the lives of more than two hundred and eighty Philadelphia firefighters killed in the line of duty; and

WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia and in deed the nation owes Mr. Binns a heart-felt debt of gratitude for his work and generosity; now therefore

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Honors James J. Binns for his Years of Practice in the Philadelphia Legal Community, his Support of the City’s Charitable Institutions and Establishment of the

Hero Plaque Program

Commemorating Police and Firefighters Killed in the Line of Duty.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented as a sincere expression of this Council’s appreciation for his work and generosity.

End