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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Elise
4Malary, who passed away in March of 2022 at the age of 31; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Elise Malary was born on March 29, 1990 and lived
6in Chicago's Andersonville and Rogers Park neighborhoods and
7in Evanston; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Elise Malary was a beloved sister, friend,
9advocate, and community leader and was known for her
10fierceness, kindness, and compassion; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Elise Malary was passionate about advancing
12social justice for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities, especially
13Trans people of color like herself, who experience hardships,
14rejection, stigmatization, violence, and disparities regarding
15access to affirming health care services, community resources,
16and opportunities for housing, workforce development, and
17employment; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Elise Malary interned at the AIDS Foundation
19Chicago and worked at Equality Illinois, the Chicago Reader,
20and the Civil Rights Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General's
21Office; she would regularly join advocates from across

 

 

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1Illinois to lobby state legislators in support of LGBTQ+
2affirming legislation during annual LGBTQ+ Advocacy Days; she
3also served for three years as a member of the Equality
4Illinois Community Advisory Group; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Elise Malary traveled around the state to lift
6LGBTQ+ Illinoisans, including several trips to Carbondale
7where she met with LGBTQ+ youth at the Rainbow Café LGBTQ
8Center (the Center); additionally, on October 8, 2017, she was
9the keynote speaker at the Center's gala, and her remarks
10continue to inspire and offer hope to those who attended the
11event; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Elise Malary was a founding member of the Chicago
13Therapy Collective (the Collective), the mission of which is
14to promote city-wide accountability and action to alleviate
15LGBTQ+ health disparities and advance collective LGBTQ+ health
16and well-being through education, therapy, advocacy, and the
17arts; she helped coordinate the Collective's annual
18Transgender Day of Resilience and Transgender Day of
19Visibility events and was a leader on the #HireTransNOW
20initiative to reduce anti-Trans hiring stigma and create
21pipelines to Trans-affirming jobs; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Elise Malary was known to many through her
23activism; in 2019, when anti-Trans stickers were placed at the

 

 

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1Women and Children First Bookstore in Andersonville, she
2helped organize a community rally and chalking of the sidewalk
3outside the bookstore with messages of hope and affirmation
4for Trans people; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Iggy V. Ladden, founder of the Chicago Therapy
6Collective, said "Elise Malary faced hardness and chose
7kindness; Elise faced cruelty and chose softness, love, and
8joy; she chose giving people the benefit of the doubt; she
9looked for the good in them; she chose compassion and she chose
10time and time again to lift others up"; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
12HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
13we mourn the passing of Elise Malary, recognize and commend
14her fierceness, compassion, advocacy, and commitment to Black
15and Trans liberation, and extend our sincere condolences to
16her family, friends, and the community that knew and loved
17her; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
19presented to the family of Elise Malary and to the Chicago
20Therapy Collective as an expression of our deepest sympathy.