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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to recognize Yolanda Treiguts for her
4 dedication and years of service to the Multiple Sclerosis
5 Society; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Ms. Treiguts was born on June 1, 1945, in Hammond,
7 Indiana at St. Margaret's Hospital; in 1959, she moved with her
8 family to Palos Hills, a south Chicago suburb; she graduated
9 from Carl Sandburg High School in 1963 and worked her way
10 through Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago by taking a
11 variety of jobs; and
 
12     WHEREAS, One of Yolanda's first loves was the theatre, and
13 she was active in the Playwrights Center at Second City in
14 Chicago; realizing that her theatrical interests would not
15 bring her financial security, Yolanda began working as a legal
16 secretary, eventually becoming a successful paralegal; and
 
17     WHEREAS, In 1978, Yolanda met her future husband and the
18 real love of her life, George Treiguts, and in Yolanda's words,
19 "Everything in my life finally seemed perfect"; after being
20 with George for only a year, in 1979, she was diagnosed with
21 Multiple Sclerosis; and
 
22     WHEREAS, Difficult challenges followed for Yolanda, and
23 she attended her first MS support group, one of only four in
24 the Chicago area at the time; she became "hooked" on the
25 organization, and by 1983 she started her own support group;
26 ever since then, volunteering for the National MS Society has
27 been Yolanda's full-time career; and
 
28     WHEREAS, Yolanda has been on both the Board of Trustees and
29 the Chapter Programs Committee for the Greater Illinois Chapter
30 of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society since 1994; she has

 

 

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1 been a member of the Advocacy & Government Relations Committee
2 since 1993, serving as Chair of the committee for the past
3 several years; and
 
4     WHEREAS, In her capacity as Chair of the Advocacy and
5 Government Relations Committee, she spearheaded several,
6 successful legislative initiatives to benefit Illinois
7 citizens with MS, including funding for MS drugs in the Circuit
8 Breaker program, an income tax check-off to provide financial
9 assistance to Illinois citizens with MS, and disability rights;
10 and
 
11     WHEREAS, Although Yolanda has made countless contributions
12 to the Society and Chapter over the years, the achievement that
13 best exemplifies her passionate commitment to improving the
14 quality of life of people with MS is her tireless work to
15 increase the availability of accessible transportation; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Yolanda's exceptional advocacy success achieved
17 national recognition when it was featured in the fall 1998
18 issue of the Society's national magazine "Inside MS"; as a
19 result of this article and local press coverage, Yolanda has
20 been asked by disability organizations in cities throughout the
21 United States for help in strategizing to obtain accessible
22 taxicabs in those cities; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Yolanda has touched the lives of so many Illinois
24 citizens and made their lives better through her hard work,
25 determination, and the unselfish way in which she gives of her
26 time and talents; therefore, be it
 
27     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
28 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
29 do hereby offer our gratitude and congratulations to Yolanda
30 Treiguts for her years of service to the Multiple Sclerosis
31 Society and the people of the State of Illinois as Chair of the

 

 

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1 Government Relations Committee since 1993; and be it further
 
2     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
3 presented to Yolanda Treiguts and her family as a token of our
4 admiration.