SR0267

LRB094 12665 CSA 47509 r






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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, Dr. Maurice F. Rabb, Jr. of Chicago passed away on 
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June 6, 2005; he was  recognized internationally as an 
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ophthalmologist specializing in retinal diseases; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Dr. Rabb was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky, on 
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August 7, 1932, to Dr. Maurice F. Rabb, Sr. and Mrs. Jewel 
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Miller Rabb; he graduated from Central Colored High School, 
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earned a baccalaureate degree in biology from the University of 
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Louisville in 1954, and graduated from the University of 
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Louisville School of Medicine in 1958; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Dr. Rabb completed his medical internship at Kings 
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County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, and studied 
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ophthalmology at New York University; at the University of 
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Illinois at Chicago he served as chief resident and was the 
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first African-American resident; and

 
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    WHEREAS, After completing a cornea fellowship at the 
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University of California at San Francisco, he obtained a grant 
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from the Illinois Society to Prevent Blindness to relocate and 
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medically update the Illinois Eye Bank at the University of 
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Illinois; during his 43-year affiliation with the University he 
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also served as  a professor who received a number of awards for 
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excellence in teaching, a founder and director of the 
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Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, interim associate 
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vice-chancellor of Urban Health, acting associate chancellor, 
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and director of medical student education in ophthalmology;   he 
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received a special recognition award from the University for 
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his extraordinary contributions; and

 
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    WHEREAS, At Mercy Hospital in Chicago he served as the 
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chair of ophthalmology,  president of the medical staff, a 
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member of the Board of Directors, and a member of the Mercy 
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Foundation Board; and

 
 


 






SR0267
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LRB094 12665 CSA 47509 r




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    WHEREAS, Dr. Rabb served on numerous  advisory committees;  
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he was the author of textbooks and scholarly articles; he 
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lectured at medical conferences as an expert on corneal disease 
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and retinopathy; he was recognized by many of the most 
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prominent medical organizations in the nation and the world; 
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for forty years he was a dedicated member of the National 
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Medical Association, the national 110-year old organization 
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dedicated to the interests of African-American physicians, 
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which showed its appreciation for his contributions by 
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co-naming a scholarship after his and the late Dr. H. Philip 
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Venable's commitments to patient care, teaching, and research; 
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and

 
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    WHEREAS, He was a dedicated family man, a photographer, a 
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world traveler, cinephile, and gadgeteer; his humor, humility, 
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love, and kindness affected all who were part of his life; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The passing of Dr. Maurice F. Rabb, Jr. is felt by 
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all who knew and loved him, especially his wife of 39 years, 
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Madeline Murphy Rabb; his sons, Maurice F. Rabb III and 
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Christopher Murphy Rabb; his mother, Jewel Miller Rabb; his 
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uncle, Louis A. Rabb; his daughter-in-law, Prof. Imani Perry; 
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and his grandson, Freeman Diallo Perry Rabb; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the 
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countless contributions of Dr. Maurice F. Rabb, Jr. to his 
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profession and community and to the health of people around the 
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world, and we join his family and friends in their sorrow at 
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this time of loss; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to his family as an expression of our deepest 
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sympathy.