HR0062 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0062 LRB098 10433 GRL 40643 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Cardiss Collins, who passed away on February 3, 2013; and

WHEREAS, Cardiss Collins was born on September 24, 1931, in St. Louis, Missouri; her parents were Finley and Rosia Mae Robertson; she married George Washington Collins in 1958; and

WHEREAS, After graduating from Detroit High School of Commerce, Cardiss Collins worked in a mattress factory while attending night classes at Northwestern University, where she earned a business certificate in 1966 and a diploma in professional accounting a year later; after college, she remained in Chicago and worked for the Illinois Department of Labor as a secretary; she later worked with the Illinois Department of Revenue as an auditor until her election to Congress; and

WHEREAS, Following the death of her husband, Cardiss Collins took his place as Representative of Illinois' 7th Congressional District, which includes Austin and the greater West Side; she served from 1973 until her retirement in 1995; and

WHEREAS, Cardiss Collins was the first black woman elected to Congress from Illinois and the Midwest; she was the first African American and woman selected as a Democratic Whip At-Large; she also served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from 1979 to 1981 and was only the second woman at the time to hold that leadership position; and

WHEREAS, During her tenure in Congress, Cardiss Collins was responsible for numerous public initiatives; in 1993, she introduced the Equality in Athletic Disclosure Act, which directed colleges and universities to publicize the rate of program participation by gender; as chair of the Manpower and Housing and Government Activities and Transportation subcommittee from 1983 to 1991, she worked to improve safety in air travel and fought for stricter controls on the transportation of toxic materials; in the 1980s, she stridently defended affirmative action by drawing attention to the hiring practices of U.S. airlines, which rarely placed African Americans in professional positions; her push for equality in the aviation industry helped pave the way for an amendment to the Airport and Airway Safety, Capacity, and Expansion Act of 1987, requiring that 10% of all concession stands in airports be run by minority- and women-owned businesses; she worked to prevent federal tax write-offs for advertising firms that discriminated against minority-owned media companies; she also co-sponsored the Universal Health Care Act and the Health Security Act in 1993; and

WHEREAS, In recognition of her commitment to gender equity in athletics, Cardiss Collins was inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1994; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Cardiss Collins; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Cardiss Collins as an expression of our sympathy.