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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois
3 were deeply saddened to learn of the death of their friend and
4 former colleague, State Senator Margaret Smith of Chicago, on
5 Monday, May 16, 2005; and
 
6     WHEREAS, She was born Margaret Fort in Chicago and spent
7 her life helping others; she graduated from DuSable High School
8 in Chicago, was educated at Tennessee State University, and was
9 a member of the Chicago Baptist Institute, where she received
10 an honorary doctor of humanities degree; in 1955, she married
11 Fred Smith, a longtime legislator who was known as "Dean of the
12 Senate" before he retired in 1979; he preceded her in death in
13 1988; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Senator Margaret Smith spent 22 years in the
15 Illinois General Assembly; she was first elected to the House
16 of Representatives in 1980 and served one two-year term; she
17 won election to the Senate in 1982 and was re-elected by
18 overwhelming margins for the next 20 years; and
 
19     WHEREAS, During her 20 years in the Senate, she served as
20 the chairwoman of the influential Senate Public Health and
21 Welfare Committee, where she had the distinction of being the
22 first female State Senator in the U.S. to serve as the
23 chairperson of the same committee chaired earlier by her spouse
24 the minority spokesperson on the Senate Public Health and
25 Welfare Committee, and as the Democratic Caucus Chair; and
 
26     WHEREAS, She also served on the Senate Committees on
27 Appropriations, Commerce and Industry, Insurance and Pensions,
28 Executive Appointments, the Legislative Space Needs
29 Commission, the Legislative Printing Unit, the Committee of
30 Women Legislators (COWL), the Advisory Board of the Illinois
31 Sports Facility Authority, the Legislative Black Caucus, the

 

 

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1 Anti-Crime Advisory Committee, and the Illinois Steering
2 Committee for Public Health's Turning Point; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Senator Smith served the State of Illinois well as
4 a member of the National Conference of Black State Legislators,
5 the Midwestern Legislative Conference, where she served on the
6 Health and Human Services Committee and the Committee on
7 Children, and the National Conference of State Legislators
8 (NCSL), where she once served as the chairperson of the NCSL's
9 Health and Human Services Committee; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Senator Smith amassed numerous legislative
11 accomplishments which enhanced the quality of life for the
12 people in the Third Senate District and of the people of
13 Illinois, including requiring the State to cover the cost of
14 mammograms for poor women, requiring insurance companies to
15 cover mammograms, protecting senior citizens in nursing homes
16 and assisted living facilities, allowing public aid recipients
17 making the transition from welfare to work to receive Medicaid
18 services for 12 months, improving the child immunization system
19 in Illinois, assisting women with ovarian and cervical cancer,
20 mandating businesses to provide an on-site location other than
21 a rest room for working mothers to express milk to feed their
22 infants during office hours, and improving business
23 opportunities for women and minorities; and
 
24     WHEREAS, She was recognized for her sponsorship and support
25 of legislation on health care and women's issues and was the
26 recipient of the coveted "Legislator of the Year Award" from
27 every major public health organization in Illinois, including
28 the Illinois Nurses' Association, the Illinois Health Care
29 Association, and the Illinois Hospital and Health Systems
30 Association; and
 
31     WHEREAS, Senator Smith is the author of legislation
32 commissioning the creation of statues of Adelbert H. Roberts,

 

 

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1 the first African American to serve in the State legislature,
2 and Dr. Martin L. King Jr., as well as the portrait of her late
3 husband, Senator Fred J. Smith, all of which are on display in
4 the State Capitol and its complex in Springfield; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Margaret Smith was known as "Lady of the Senate"
6 and is remembered for her class, benevolence, and humor; she
7 was dedicated to her church and faith and made numerous mission
8 trips abroad; she visited Africa, Europe, and Asia; in
9 recognition of her work, a school in Haiti was named after her;
10 she was a board member of the Ada S. McKinley Foundation and
11 Beatrice Caffrey Youth Service; she was a member of Sigma Gamma
12 Rho Sorority, Inc., Metropolitan Business and Professional
13 Women International, and Bethsaida Missionary Baptist Church;
14 therefore, be it
 
15     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL
16 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
17 our friend and former colleague, Senator Margaret Smith, who
18 spent a well-lived life dedicated to championing the needs of
19 others; and be it further
 
20     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21 presented to her family as an expression of our sincere sorrow
22 for this loss.