SR1381 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1381 LRB102 29796 LAW 41886 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Charlotte Newfeld, who passed away on November 17, 2022; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte Newfeld was born to Rebecca and Jacob Aronson in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood on November 26, 1930; she attended Von Steuben High School; she received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin at Madison; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte Newfeld worked as a professional artist at a gallery in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood and later at Studio 23 on Lincoln Avenue, where she created her works in ceramics, sterling silver, and watercolors; and

WHEREAS, In addition to her artistic talent, Charlotte Newfeld was a fierce community activist; her contributions to the Lakeview neighborhood, where she lived for nearly 60 years, included improvements in education, open spaces, neighborhood protections, and AIDS awareness; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte Newfeld was a tenacious advocate for gay and lesbian rights since the early 1970s, being inducted into the LGBT Hall of Fame in 1996; her contributions to the LGBT community included her advocating for appointment of a mayoral liaison and actively lobbying to secure passage of Chicago's human rights ordinance, which prohibits discrimination because of sexual orientation, through establishing the Lesbian and Gay Town Meeting in the mid-1980s; she later lobbied for Chicago's hate crimes ordinance and the Cook County human rights ordinance, all of which include sexual orientation as a protected class; she urged Mayor Harold Washington to establish a mayor's committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues, which became the forerunner to the present Chicago Commission on Human Relations' Advisory Council on Gay and Lesbian Issues; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte Newfeld actively participated in numerous political campaigns and was once described as "the Grand Dame of the lakefront liberals" by the Chicago Tribune; she ran for alderman in the 46th Ward in 1983, losing by just 66 votes; she worked for the late State Representative Larry McKeon in his historic, successful run for state representative of the 34th District of Illinois in the 1996 Democratic primary election; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte Newfeld was the president of Citizens United for Baseball in Sunshine (CUBS), leading the No Lights campaign in an attempt to stop night games in Wrigley Field; while night games ultimately prevailed, her group was able to ensure safety measures to protect the neighborhood and its residents; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte Newfeld's later years were dedicated to her passion for nature and Chicago's lakefront; she was the creative visionary for the Bill Jarvis Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Lincoln Park and was affectionately known as "the Jarvis Earth Mother"; along with a cadre of volunteers, she was instrumental in the sanctuary's restoration, protection, and ongoing management; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte Newfeld was preceded in death by her parents; her sisters, Janet and Arlene; her husband, Bernard; and her son, David; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte Newfeld is survived by her daughter, Julie Newfeld, and her son-in-law, Greg Pranski; 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 Charlotte Newfeld 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 Charlotte Newfeld as an expression of our deepest sympathy.