SR0982 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0982 LRB102 27009 LAW 38270 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Helen Marie Ramirez-Odell of Chicago, who passed away on March 22, 2022; and

WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell was born Helen Hershinow in Chicago on July 22, 1942; she grew up in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago; she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Loyola University Chicago, becoming a Registered Nurse in 1964; and

WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell worked as a school nurse in the Chicago Public Schools for over 40 years until her retirement in 2011; and

WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell was a lifelong champion for women; when she discovered that she could not make a needed purchase from Goldblatt's in the late 1960s because they did not extend credit lines to women, her outrage led her to join the Chicago National Organization for Women (NOW) and to become an activist for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, a cause she championed until her passing; and

WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell joined the Chicago Teachers Union in the 1970s and became a member of its Women's Rights Committee, which she chaired for more than 20 years; during her tenure, the committee worked to end sexual harassment, supported women's advancement at the Washburne Trade School, sought to improve conditions and employment for women in sports, promoted women's labor history, supported women as political candidates, and fought for women's health, birth control, and reproductive choice, among many other issues; and

WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell was a founder of the Women in Labor History Project in 1995, later called the Working Women's History Project (WWHP); during this time, she was also active in the Chicago Coalition of Labor Union Women and Cassandra: Radical Feminist Nurses Network; and

WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell wrote and published Working Without Uniforms: School Nursing In Chicago 1951 – 2001; she also produced a manuscript titled RN Revolution Needed, which was about the need for a feminist transformation of the nursing profession; and

WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell will be especially remembered for her contributions to women's rights; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Helen Marie Ramirez-Odell 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 Helen Ramirez-Odell as an expression of our deepest sympathy.