HR1306LRB097 23488 MST 72431 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are proud to honor our esteemed colleague,
4State Representative Karen Yarbrough, and thank her for her
5many years of service to the residents of her district and the
6people of the State of Illinois; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough is a native of Washington D.C., but
8established herself as a third generation entrepreneur in Cook
9County; she earned a degree in business administration from
10Chicago State University, a master's degree in inner city
11studies at Northeastern Illinois University, and completed a
12senior executive government program at Harvard's Kennedy
13School of Government; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough blazed trails in carrying on her
15family's tradition of work in the real estate, appraisal and
16insurance industry, making great strides as a woman in a then
17male-dominated profession; she was the founder and longtime
18chief executive officer of Hathaway Insurance, and was driven
19to succeed despite those who looked over her shoulder to see if
20the man who ran the business was around; she often shares this
21anecdote to inspire young women to persevere through adversity;
22and
 

 

 

HR1306- 2 -LRB097 23488 MST 72431 r

1    WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough became State Representative in
22001, and for more than 10 years has been a strong advocate for
3social justice and a society that measures itself by how it
4cares for its most vulnerable, especially young children, the
5disabled, and the elderly; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough served on numerous committees in
7the House of Representatives, including committees on housing,
8public safety appropriations, education, public health,
9environment, insurance, and the railroad industry, among many
10others; she was also selected by her peers to serve as
11Assistant Majority Leader; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough earned a reputation as a
13hardworking leader unafraid to fight for what she believes is
14right; among the tough issues she tackled was the legislative
15effort that made Illinois the first Midwestern state to ban
16indoor smoking and protect employees from the health risks of
17secondary smoke; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Public health has long been a priority for Rep.
19Yarbrough; she has helped numerous HIV/AIDS prevention and
20education organizations and hosts an annual breast cancer
21awareness event to bring local women together; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough believed that Illinois would be a

 

 

HR1306- 3 -LRB097 23488 MST 72431 r

1better place if it ended the death penalty, taking up an effort
2that had made little progress in 30 years; she worked
3tirelessly to help others find the courage to stand for true
4justice and made Illinois the 16th state to repeal capital
5punishment, earning her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and an
6audience with Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough believes that many of society's
8problems stem from poverty, and she focused much of her
9legislative efforts to eliminate it, helping to create the
10Commission on the Elimination of Poverty; and
 
11    WHEREAS, To help battle violence in Chicago and Cook
12County, Rep. Yarbrough was one of the first state officials to
13endorse the CeaseFire anti-violence initiative, an effort
14using violence interrupters to mediate conflicts before they
15turn deadly; when CeaseFire dollars were slashed and violence
16started to rise, Yarbrough successfully fought to restore much
17State funding; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough was one of the first legislators to
19recognize that predatory mortgage lending practices had a
20deleterious effect on communities, especially communities of
21color, and fought to crack down on state-chartered banks and
22establish a program to track lending and offer mortgage
23counseling to potential buyers at risk; and
 

 

 

HR1306- 4 -LRB097 23488 MST 72431 r

1    WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough helped usher in the first major
2statewide capital construction program in Illinois in a decade
3to repair the state's crumbling roads, bridges and schools and
4create well-paying jobs; she helped to enact strong ethics
5reform to restore trust in state government; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough has received numerous awards
7recognizing her efforts to promote social justice, public
8health, fair housing, anti-violence, volunteerism and women's
9rights, and she proudly mentors young people who seek to become
10more involved in their communities; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough enjoys spending time with her
12family, especially her husband, Henderson, who shares her
13passion for public service as Mayor of the Village of Maywood;
14she is especially proud of her children and grandchildren;
15therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18we thank State Representative Karen Yarbrough for her service
19to her community and State, and wish her continued success in
20her new position as Cook County Recorder and in all her future
21endeavors; and be it further
 

 

 

HR1306- 5 -LRB097 23488 MST 72431 r

1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to Rep. Karen Yarbrough as an expression of our
3respect and gratitude.