Full Text of HR0667 101st General Assembly
HR0667 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to
learn of the death of Barbara | 4 | | O'Connor of Hyde Park, who passed away on January 12, 2020; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Barbara O'Connor was born in Chicago; she attended | 6 | | Catholic high school, Loyola University, and what is today St. | 7 | | Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Barbara O'Connor moved to the Hyde Park | 9 | | neighborhood in 1957; by 1960, she was a block director of the | 10 | | Hyde Park Community Conference (HPKCC), which formed to quell | 11 | | panic about the neighborhood's racial integration; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, As fears of integration tampered, Barbara | 13 | | O'Connor campaigned for the focus of the HPKCC to turn towards | 14 | | raising funds for community projects and pilot programs aimed | 15 | | at improving the quality of urban life; this included | 16 | | successfully campaigning for the building of a new cultural | 17 | | center in the neighborhood; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Barbara O'Connor's community involvement included | 19 | | the Catholic Interracial Council, the Harper Court Foundation, | 20 | | and the Illinois Commission on Human Rights, where she worked | 21 | | as a consultant; she was also a member of the Independent |
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| 1 | | Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Barbara O'Connor became involved in campaign work | 3 | | as a teenager when she worked on Adlai Stevenson's | 4 | | gubernatorial campaign in 1948; she also worked on Chicago | 5 | | Mayor Harold Washington's mayoral campaign in 1983 and | 6 | | President Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Barbara O'Connor worked for both U.S. | 8 | | Representative Abner Mikva's and Governor Dan Walker's | 9 | | administrations in the 1970s; she worked for Mayor Washington's | 10 | | administration as telecommunications manager in the 1980s; | 11 | | during this time, she also worked for the Chicago Access | 12 | | Corporation; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Barbara O'Connor left city government in 1988; she | 14 | | then worked in former Cook County Clerk David Orr's elections | 15 | | department, taking a particular interest in voter registration | 16 | | and outreach; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Barbara O'Connor was an avid gardener, growing | 18 | | corn, eggplants, melons, tomatoes, and lettuce while living in | 19 | | her third-story apartment; she worked as the head of the herb | 20 | | department for the HPKCC Garden Fair for decades; she also | 21 | | enjoyed knitting and photography; therefore, be it |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 2 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 3 | | we mourn the passing of
Barbara O'Connor and extend our sincere
| 4 | | condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved
| 5 | | her; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
| 7 | | presented to the family of Barbara O'Connor as an expression of
| 8 | | our deepest sympathy.
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