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SENATE RESOLUTION

  
 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to  
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learn of the death of
Juliette Marie Ferguson, who passed away 
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on October 1, 2009; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson was born on January 15, 1965, in 
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Chicago; she was the third daughter of Henry Wordsworth 
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Ferguson and Gwendolyn Roddy Ferguson; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson attended John T. Pirie and 
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Arthur Dixon Elementary Schools; she then attended Whitney 
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Young High School, where she graduated with honors in 1981; 
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after high school, she attended Northwestern University, where 
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she earned her undergraduate degree with distinction in 1986, 
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and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she earned 
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her juris doctorate degree in 1989; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson participated in numerous 
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extracurricular activities during her academic career; she was  
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a co-captain of the cheerleading team, a member of the Student 
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Government Association and the National Honor Society, and the 
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vice-president of the Honors Club; she was voted Homecoming 
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Queen and Most Ambitious during her senior year of high school; 
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she won the Miss Black Chicago Beauty Pageant in 1986; she also 
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served as National Vice-President of the Black American Law 
 


 






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Students Association at the University of Michigan; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson worked for noted black 
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journalist Vernon Jarrett during the early days of her career; 
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in 2003, she became the Associate General Counsel for the City 
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Colleges of Chicago; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson was very passionate about 
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theater and the performing arts; she appeared in productions of 
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the Buffalo Theater Ensemble, The African Company, and the ETA 
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Creative Arts Association; she earned a Jefferson Citation 
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nomination in 1991 for her performance as Corky in Stoops; she 
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participated in dance classes at the Lou Conte and Joel Hall 
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dance studios; she performed in numerous voice-overs and 
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television commercials; in 2008, she starred in the independent 
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film Self Determination, which was shown at film festivals in 
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Milwaukee and Los Angeles; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson is survived by her mother, 
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Gwendolyn; her sister, Melanie Ferguson Lobdell; her 
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brother-in-law, Willie Lobdell; her aunt, Harriette Roddy 
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Brown; her nieces, Nicole Parrott, R'Mani Gamble, and Wendy 
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Lobdell; her nephews, David Moss and Willie Lobdell; her 
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cousins, Madelynne Brown, Sharmon Wilkinson, Brian and 
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Christopher Wilkinson, Lisa Brown Tribbett, Charles Tribbett, 
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Jillian Tribbett, Charles Tribbett, Jr., Jason Tribbett, Bert 
 


 






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Roddy III, Bert Roddy IV,  Sydney Roddy, Sharon Gill, Tonese 
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Gill-Woodie, Amber Woodie, Tshaye Taylor, Lauretta Travis, 
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Albert Travis III, Albert Travis IV, Adam Travis, Allison 
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Travis, Mariana Mason, and Sister Mary Annunciata; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Juliette Ferguson will be remembered by all who 
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knew and loved her as a warm, nurturing, articulate, 
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compassionate, and inspiring person who enriched the lives of 
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everyone she met; therefore, be it
  
 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with 
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her family and friends, the passing of Juliette Marie Ferguson; 
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and be it further
  
 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the family of Juliette Ferguson as an expression 
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of our sympathy.