![\"Jeff](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CTC-L-jesse-white-crash-agt-01-crop.jpg\")
Jeff Williams, a longtime member of the Jesse White Tumbling Team, pictured in approximately 2012. Williams died Monday night in a crash in northwest suburban Mundelein. (Emmanuel McGhee)<\/p>\nIt\u2019s been a bittersweet week for the Jesse White Tumbling Team.<\/p>\n
Members are mourning the death of one of their own as they bring the team\u2019s storied legacy to the national stage.<\/p>\n
On Monday night, longtime team member Jeff Williams was killed in a crash in northwest suburban Mundelein. A day later, Chicago watched as the hometown team auditioned for \u2014 and ultimately moved forward \u2014 in this season of \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are hurt by his death, (we\u2019re) very saddened by that,\u201d tumbling coach and friend Emmanuel McGhee said in an interview with the Tribune on Thursday. \u201cBut at the same time, we\u2019re very happy to go to the next round. I think he (would) want us to go to the next round.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams, 34, of Evanston, collided with a Honda SUV near the intersection of Route 45 and Route 83 and was ejected from his vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Mundelein police said the crash remained under investigation.<\/p>\n
Jesse White remembered Williams as \u201cthe life of the party.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a gentleman in every way,\u201d the former Illinois secretary of state told the Tribune. \u201cHe always got along well with his teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams worked in the accounting revenue department of the secretary of state\u2019s office. White, through his 24-year tenure as secretary of state, remembers hiring Williams.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a bright star,\u201d White said. \u201cHe was a good guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGhee described Williams as an \u201coutstanding individual,\u201d both on and off the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was always caring, always loving, always committed,\u201d McGhee said.<\/p>\n
Williams served on the team for more than 20 years, McGhee said. In that time, he earned the nickname Superman for his role as a flyer in performances.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was just so kind to all of the youngsters; he poured into their lives in a very positive way,\u201d McGhee said. \u201cJeff will always be remembered for his infectious smile, his high energy, his positive energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams\u2019 mother is in the process of planning services, McGhee said. He leaves behind seven children.<\/p>\n
White said the team is now \u201ctalking about what we can do to participate in his going away\u201d and how members might honor him in the near future. The team also plans to dedicate their next performance on \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent\u201d to Williams, McGhee said.<\/p>\n
Jeff Williams, a longtime member of the Jesse White Tumbling Team, pictured in approximately 2012. Williams died Monday night in a crash in northwest suburban Mundelein. (Emmanuel McGhee)<\/p>\n
Tuesday\u2019s pre-taped episode marked the fifth night of auditions for this season of the NBC talent show, which is now in its 21st rendition. The Jesse White Tumbling Team was one of 16 acts that performed and one of 10 to move forward to the next round of performances. The tumbling team received a standing ovation and a \u201cyes\u201d from all four judges.<\/p>\n
\u201c(We) knew that this was a big deal,\u201d McGhee said. \u201cSo we had to bring our best quality and our best efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked how they came to audition, McGhee and White said it was \u201cAGT\u201d that reached out first. The show contacted the team last year to see if the tumblers might want to participate in the next season. The team had previously appeared in an early season of the show back in 2009 but was eliminated after the second round.<\/p>\n
The opportunity is exciting to say the least, McGhee said, between the opportunity itself and the opportunity to share the team\u2019s story with a wider audience.<\/p>\n
White<\/a>, now 92, founded the Jesse White Tumblers in 1959, making this year the group\u2019s 67th in existence. The politician started the team<\/a> as a positive force for school-age kids, to keep kids in school, off drugs and out of gangs through athletic acrobatic practice and performance.<\/p>\n McGhee said it \u201cmeans the world\u201d to carry on the legacy and hopes that through this experience, \u201cwe show them who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a familiar story. The Jesse White Tumblers\u2019 performance comes nearly a year after Chicago\u2019s own Leo High School finished in fourth place<\/a> in last year\u2019s season of \u201cAGT.\u201d For months, the city cheered on as the Auburn Gresham-based Catholic school<\/a> \u2014 long known as a place where young Black and brown men are nurtured to succeed \u2014 made Chicago proud<\/a>.<\/p>\n McGhee said the team is already preparing for the next round, which will entail a series of live shows starting in mid-August.<\/p>\n As they move forward, McGhee said the team is doing its best to \u201cremain as one.\u201d Williams would have wanted them to win.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re family,\u201d McGhee said. \u201cJeff will want us to stick together.\u201d<\/p>\n