SR1104 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1104 LRB100 15309 ALS 30805 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Melvin J. "Mel" Wilson of Oak Park, who passed away on April 20, 2017, at the age of 74; and

WHEREAS, Mel Wilson was born in Wichita, Kansas to Leonard Lee and Levina Wilson on July 9, 1942; he later moved to California; he studied at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture in 1965; upon graduation, he served in the Peace Corps in Tunisia from 1965-1968; and

WHEREAS, Mel Wilson moved to Oak Park, Illinois with his then-wife, Esther Parada, and their son, Adam, in 1977; and

WHEREAS, Mel Wilson worked at the Chicago architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and at the office of famed modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe; he worked with Fuilawa Conterato Lohan Associates until 1984; he also worked at the Windy City Times as a proofreader, typesetter, and writer; he later taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology and at the Art Institute of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Mel Wilson met Nathan Linsk, a University of Illinois at Chicago Professor of Social Work, at a meeting of the Chicago Gay and Married Men's Association in 1983; both had recently come out; shortly after, Mel and Nathan became life partners; they married with great joy in Washington D.C. in 2010; and

WHEREAS, Mel Wilson, along with Nathan Linsk and the late Bryan Findlay, founded the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association (OPALGA), a community advocacy group, in 1989; the founding meeting was also attended by Rebekah Levin, who was heavily involved with Lavender Banquet, a social support group for area lesbians; he and Rebekah Levin then teamed as co-chairs of OPALGA to reach out to government groups, the police department, and community organizations; they worked to get candidates in local municipal elections to declare positions on gay and lesbian issues; he successfully lobbied the Village of Oak Park to include anti-discriminatory language into its Human Rights Ordinance and also urged the Village Board to create a Domestic Partnership Registry for same-sex couples; and

WHEREAS, Mel Wilson chaired the Parent Human Relations Committee at Oak Park and River Forest High School, where his son was a student; he also served on the Oak Park Design Commission and was a board member at Community Response, a local AIDS organization; and

WHEREAS, Mel Wilson was known by his friends and family to have a gentle sense of humor and the ability to contextualize his advocacy work by drawing on his own personal experiences and history; he was soft spoken, self-effacing, and placed great value on developing a committed and compassionate community; and

WHEREAS, Mel Wilson was preceded in death by his parents; and his brothers, Claude and Everett Wilson; and

WHEREAS, Mel Wilson is survived by his husband and partner of 32 years, Nathan; his son, Adam (Renee) Wilson; his stepdaughter, Charna Linsk (Angel McDonald); and his brothers, Darrel Wilson and Loren Wilson; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Melvin J. "Mel" Wilson and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Mel Wilson as an expression of our deepest sympathy.