HR0955 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0955 LRB098 20630 MST 57424 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Vernita Gray of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Vernita Gray has dedicated most of her life to the struggle for LGBT equality and has served Chicago's gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community with distinction since the late 1960s; she helped found Chicago's first lesbian newspaper, Lavender Women, helped organize the City's first Pride Parade, and set-up one of Chicago's first gay information hotlines, which she operated out of her apartment; she was instrumental in forming the first Lesbian Caucus of the nascent Gay Liberation organization in the early 1970s; and

WHEREAS, Since 1993, Vernita Gray has aided the LGBT community through her work at the Cook County State's Attorney office, where she was the LGBT victim-witness coordinator, working with victims of hate crimes, domestic violence, and the families of homicide victims; after 6 years she was promoted to LGBT liaison, where she was responsible for reaching out to communities in Cook County; her favorite task was speaking to high school students about hate crimes and issues of violence in the community, for which she was awarded the Stonewall Award; she led the effort to see that gays and lesbians were included in the annual Bud Billiken parade when they had traditionally been excluded; and

WHEREAS, Vernita Gray worked beside President Barack Obama as a member of the LGBT advisory council when he was an Illinois State Senator, and she attended the Democratic National Convention in Denver and President Obama's inauguration in Washington, D.C.; and

WHEREAS, Vernita Gray was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1992 for her efforts as an early leader in the gay-liberation movement; and

WHEREAS, Vernita Gray married her wife, Pat Ewert, on November 27, 2013, becoming the first same-sex couple married in Illinois as a result of being plaintiffs in a federal court case that allowed the couple to wed early, despite the law not going into effect until June 1, 2014; and

WHEREAS, Vernita Gray was a Chicago business owner for 11 years, operating the "Sol Sands" restaurant and a second company that develops audio visual materials for children; she is a graduate of Columbia College with a degree in writing and communications and published "Sweet Sixteen", a volume of her own poetry; and

WHEREAS, Later in life, Vernita Gray devoted much of her time to bring attention to the issue of aging gays and lesbians, which she felt was often overlooked and that there was still much work to be done; she served on the Task Force of the Aging, the LGBT advisory committee to the AARP, and the National Gay and Lesbian Senior Task Force; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Vernita Gray, 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 Vernita Gray as an expression of our deepest sympathy.