HR1661 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1661 LRB095 23253 GRL 53917 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are deeply saddened to learn of the death of our friend and colleague, State Representative Wyvetter H. Younge of East St. Louis, who passed away on December 26, 2008; and

WHEREAS, Wyvetter Younge was born in St. Louis, Missouri on August 23, 1930; she was a lifelong resident of East St. Louis and one of the longest serving, dedicated, and passionate legislators in history of the Illinois House of Representatives; she was first elected to the House in 1974 and served until her death; and

WHEREAS, She built a strong reputation for working hard to provide members of her community with better schools and educational opportunities, affordable housing, and access to health care; she also was a zealous advocate for revitalizing her district through economic development and the creation of new job opportunities; and

WHEREAS, She became well-known for her responsive constituent service office and her intense focus on issues affecting the quality of life for district residents; she was so committed to serving her constituents, raising her family, and caring for her late husband when he became seriously ill, that she drove 90 miles each way to Springfield every day that the House was in session so that she could return to her community and help those in need; and

WHEREAS, She believed that education was the key to breaking the cycle of poverty and that every child deserves a quality education regardless of family income; a cornerstone of her work was her fight for better educational opportunities for the State's children; among the education initiatives she supported was the recalculation of the school funding formula to increase funding for Illinois' downstate schools; she fought valiantly to establish the East St. Louis Community College Center in East St. Louis; she was a visionary who initiated the concept of the East St. Louis Action Research Project as a means of providing tangible resources from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to East St. Louis and the surrounding communities; because of her commitment to providing better opportunities for future generations, Wyvetter Younge Middle School in East St. Louis was named in her honor; and

WHEREAS, She fought for health care access for all because she knew in her heart that being healthy was not only for the privileged, but a basic right; an advocate for working families and senior citizens, she supported legislation requiring HMO reform and health care coverage for children and low-income working families; she co-sponsored legislation to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, expanded home-based elder care programs, and broadened the State's family and medical leave laws; and

WHEREAS, She was a living witness to the civil rights movement and a fighter for equality; she provided assistance to the NAACP in its efforts to ensure that minority workers were employed on the Martin Luther King Bridge rebuilding project; and

WHEREAS, She made urban revitalization and rebuilding inner-city economies among her top priorities; she fought for better paying jobs, because she understood that good jobs help build strong communities and healthy families; she ardently sought funding for a variety of redevelopment projects across her district, including the expansion of the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities in East St. Louis; and

WHEREAS, She was a tireless supporter of the East St. Louis Business Incubator, industrial parks, and other job-creating efforts; she drafted job-producing legislation like the "Economic Bill of Rights" to seek alternatives to welfare dependency and to increase the State's power to provide economic justice; she backed measures to increase the minimum wage and make child care more affordable; and

WHEREAS, She passed a bill that paved the way for the development of the Metro East Citizens Land Cooperative, a citizen-owned, for-profit community investment corporation intent on connecting Illinois residents with land and technology through ownership; she helped the cooperative to revive and expand an East St. Louis renaissance plan developed in the 1970s by famed architect R. Buckminster Fuller; and

WHEREAS, She worked tirelessly to combat poverty, to care for the sick and the homeless, and to help those battling addiction problems because she felt our society is judged by how we treat our least fortunate; and

WHEREAS, She was not only focused on finding big solutions to big problems, but also dedicated to helping every individual constituent in need, oftentimes giving constituents cash from her wallet to pay their utility bills; and

WHEREAS, Her efforts on behalf of the State of Illinois have garnered recognition from a wide array of organizations, including the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville School of Nursing, United Auto Workers, Katherine Dunham Centers, Illinois Agricultural Association, American Council Society, NAACP, East St. Louis School District 189, and Gamma Phi Delta; and

WHEREAS, She graduated from Lincoln Senior High School in East St. Louis; she studied at Hampton Institute in Virginia, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in 1951; she furthered her education by earning a law degree in 1953 from St. Louis University School of Law and later a Master of Law degree from Washington University School of Law in 1972; and

WHEREAS, From 1955 to 1957, she served as an assistant circuit attorney in St. Louis; and

WHEREAS, She was affiliated with the Missouri Bar Association and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; and

WHEREAS, During her historic tenure in the House, she was named Assistant House Democratic Leader in 1995 and Assistant Majority Leader in 2005, and served as one of the most respected and effective legislators in State history; and

WHEREAS, She was a beloved community leader; the residents of East St. Louis and other surrounding Metro East communities as well as all the people of Illinois have benefitted immensely from her unquestioned professionalism, enormous integrity, deep principles, compassionate advocacy, and untiring work ethic; and

WHEREAS, She was preceded in death by her husband of 49 years, Richard Younge, Sr.; her daughter, Ruth Younge; and her sister, Cecile Edwards; and

WHEREAS, Representative Younge is survived by her daughter, Margaret Hewitt of East St. Louis; her son, Torque Younge of East St. Louis; her two stepsons, Richard Younge, Jr. of Lithonia, Georgia, and Roland Younge of St. Louis, Missouri; her sister, Ruth H. Hill of O'Fallon, Illinois; her two brothers, Roscoe Hoover of St. Louis, Missouri and Herbert Hoover of Lutz, Florida; her eight grandchildren; and her many friends and constituents; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with her friends, family, and constituents, the passing of a truly caring individual and monumental presence in her community, State Representative Wyvetter H. Younge; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of State Representative Wyvetter Younge as a symbol of our sincere sympathy and sorrow for their loss.