SR1808 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1808 LRB100 22234 MST 40864 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Northica Hillery-Stone of Bellwood, who passed away on May 16, 2018; and

WHEREAS, Northica Hillery-Stone graduated from Washington Elementary School and Proviso East High Schools in Maywood; she attended Roosevelt University, DePaul University, and Fisk University, and holds a certificate in Community Law from the John Marshall School of Law; and

WHEREAS, Northica Hillery-Stone was a lifelong member of the Second Baptist Church; at the age of 15, she was elected as director of the Second Baptist Adult Gospel Chorus and served in that position for over 25 years; she served in many other capacities, including Sunday school national delegate, soloist, president of the Hayden Memorial Scholarship Committee, Women's Day speaker, and seminar facilitator; and

WHEREAS, Northica Hillery-Stone was the longtime head of the nonprofit Operation Uplift, founded by her husband in 1968; and

WHEREAS, Northica Hillery-Stone was a longtime community activist, beginning as a charter member of Maywood's First NAACP Youth Council; she represented the area at one of the first "Marches on Washington" rallies in 1949; she founded the West Town Museum of Cultural History in Maywood, where she served for decades as the chief archivist; the West Town opened in 1995 as a division of Operation Uplift and has become a gathering place for various community events and social functions; she and her staff were featured in the Chicago Tribune for discovering the Ten Mile Freedom House Underground Railroad site in Maywood and their efforts to erect a permanent memorial in Maywood; she was also responsible for obtaining a historic preservation status for the home and street where famed chemist Dr. Percy L. Julian lived while residing in Maywood, Percy L. Julian Way; and

WHEREAS, Northica Hillery-Stone and her husband, George, organized block clubs, and were active in local Boy Scout Troop 123 and served as P.T.O parents; and

WHEREAS, Northica Hillery-Stone received many awards for her endeavors, including recognition from the Chicago United Way, Quaker Oats, the McDonald's Black Owners Association, the Mahogany Foundation, WVON The Talk of Chicago, the National Council of Negro Women, Dr. Dorothy Height, Congressman Danny K. Davis, the National Association of Colored Women and Aunt Jemima Brands, Cook Country Presidents' John H. Stroger Jr. and Toni Preckwinkle, the Osco Jewel Corps. Hidden Jewel of the Community, Who's Who In American Executives, and former Presidents' George W. Bush and Bill Clinton; and

WHEREAS, Northica Hillery-Stone is the mother of two sons, the late Theophilous Scott Jr. and George Ellis Stone II; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Northica Hillery-Stone, and extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Northica Hillery-Stone as an expression of our deepest sympathy.