SR1199 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1199 LRB101 21558 LAW 72464 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Elizabeth "Betty" Balanoff Ph.D., who passed away on May 28, 2019 at the age of 92; and

WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff was born in Salisbury, Missouri to Adelaide and Harold Brummall on July 8, 1926; she studied biology at the University of Missouri before moving to Chicago to further pursue her studies; she married James Balanoff Jr. in 1947; she earned her master's in history from Roosevelt University in Chicago in 1964; she earned her Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago in 1974; she lived in Gary and Hammond, Indiana for most of her adult life; and

WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff began a long career at Roosevelt University in 1966, starting as an adjunct instructor before moving to a full-time position as an assistant professor; she participated in a faculty exchange, lecturing at trade union colleges in Moscow and Leningrad, Russia in 1976; she was promoted to full professor in 1981; for 25 years, she taught American history to generations of students; she was a pioneer in the teaching of African American history, Native American history, women's history, immigration history, and labor history; she also taught the first courses at Roosevelt University in the history of childhood and the family; her class in labor history was the first open to undergraduates at a Chicago university; she retired in 1991 and was named professor emeritus in 1993; and

WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff's lasting legacy to Roosevelt University centered around the Labor Oral History Project, which she directed from 1970 to 1985; she conducted and transcribed interviews with over 70 labor union leaders and rank-and-file members in the Chicago area; her project has become a valuable resource that is among the most requested items in the Roosevelt University archives; and

WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff was a social and environmental activist throughout her life; she successfully assisted Richard Hatcher's mayoral campaign in Gary, Indiana in 1968, making him the first elected black mayor of a major U.S. city; she co-founded the Coalition for a Clean Environment in Northwest Indiana; she was a leader of the Northwest Indiana Residents for Clean Air; she also served on the Hammond Public Library Board for seven years; and

WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff received a number of accolades; she had a teaching award named in her honor by Roosevelt University in 1991, which recognizes a distinguished professor each year; her efforts towards the Labor Oral History Project were recognized by the Working Women's History Project in 1997 and by the Illinois Labor History Society; she was honored for her advocacy by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency in 2007; and

WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff was known as a kind, generous, and accomplished teacher; she will be remembered as someone who never lost her heart or patience and remained steadfast in her convictions; and

WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff's expertise and passion for the organized labor movement was shared by her family; her husband James was the president of the largest United Steelworkers local in the country, which was Local 1010 based in East Chicago, Indiana; their son Tom is the president of Service Employees International Union Illinois Council and the vice president of its International Executive Board, as well as the president of SEIU Local 1, which represents 50,000 property service workers in Chicago and 10 other cities across the Midwest; and

WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, James Balanoff Jr.; her parents; and her sister, Helen Donner; and

WHEREAS, At the time of her death, Betty Balanoff was survived by her four children, James (Rebecca) Balanoff III, Thomas (Hetty) Balanoff, Joseph (Betty) Balanoff, and Katherine (James) Robinson; her seven grandchildren; her nine great-grandchildren; and her numerous nieces and nephews; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Elizabeth "Betty" Balanoff Ph.D. 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 Betty Balanoff as an expression of our deepest sympathy.