SR0730 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0730 LRB104 20800 ECR 34318 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Olgha Sierra Sandman, who passed away on January 27, 2026; and

WHEREAS, Olgha Sandman, the daughter of Reverend Daniel Sierra Barocio and Luz Ramos Sierra, was born in Linares, Nuevo Leon, Mexico in 1927; she enrolled at the Baptist Missionary Training School in Chicago in 1950; she married J. Robert (Bob) Sandman in 1955; and

WHEREAS, Olgha Sandman initially worked as a teacher in Monterrey, and she also worked with children in Migrant Ministry in the summer of 1951; and

WHEREAS, Olgha Sandman dedicated her career to supporting immigrant farmworkers, starting with her participation in the Delano Grape Boycott in 1970; she was a supporter and colleague of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, and she was active with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), the United Farm Workers, and other organizations; and

WHEREAS, Olgha Sandman served as the founding director of the Illinois Farm Worker Ministry from 1974 to 1992, on the board of directors of the National Farm Workers Ministry since its founding in 1970, and as interim president and director of the National Farm Worker Ministry in the late 1990s; she launched the Illinois Farm Worker Service Center in 1981, and she co-founded the Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project (FLAP) in 1999; she was also instrumental in advocating for passage of the Illinois Field Sanitation Law and the legalization of undocumented workers under the Immigration Reform and Control Act; and

WHEREAS, Olgha Sandman was a member of First Congregational UCC in Downers Grove for 45 years, and she was also a member of San Lucas United Church of Christ in Chicago; she and her husband served as volunteer missionaries for the Board for World Ministries for one year, establishing the Istanbul, Turkey Interparish Migrants Project; she also served as a farm worker/immigration coordinator on the State Board Ecumenical Action Committee; and

WHEREAS, Olgha Sandman received many awards and recognitions throughout her life, including being selected as one of the Ten Top Women in Dayton, Ohio in 1967, receiving an honorary Doctor of Letters from the Chicago Theological Seminary in 1991, the Sor Juana Award by the National Museum of Mexican Arts in Pilsen, and the Governor's Award for Excellence during Latino Heritage Month in 2014, being inducted into the Union Hall of Honor by the Illinois Labor History Society in 2015, receiving the Service Award for Dedicated Service to Church Women United in 2017 and a certificate of Appreciation from Cesar Chavez and the Executive United Farm Workers Board, and being recognized as one of Five Outstanding Immigrants in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Olgha Sandman collaborated with the late Julie Shannon and her husband Bill Geller in the 1999 production of the musical Let The Eagle Fly, the story of Cesar Chavez and the farm workers, which had its Chicago debut at the Mercury Theater in 2021; and

WHEREAS, Olgha Sandman lived a life of faith and service, and she had a magnetic and charismatic personality; and

WHEREAS, Olgha Sandman was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her son, Richard Sandman; her grandson, Nicholas Sandman; and ten siblings; and

WHEREAS, Olgha Sandman is survived by her children, Bob (Kathy) Sandman, Linda (Rich Wheelock) Sandman, and Rodney (Karin) Sandman; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Olgha Sierra Sandman 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 Olgha Sandman as an expression of our deepest sympathy.