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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Dr. Mable Louise Blackwell of Chicago,
4who passed away on December 22, 2013; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Dr. Mable Blackwell was born in Decatur, Alabama
6on February 15, 1947 to Herman Tennis and Ruth Kathyrn (nee
7Ewing) Blackwell; her family relocated in 1953 and she spent
8her childhood years in Champaign; she studied at Lawhead
9Elementary School, Willard Elementary School, Franklin Junior
10High School (now Franklin Middle School), and Champaign Senior
11High School (now Central High School); she attended Andrew
12Jackson High School in Queens, New York in 1964 and returned to
13graduate from Champaign Senior High School in 1965; she later
14attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where she
15was initiated into the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.,
16Epsilon Xi Chapter in 1968; she continued her education at
17Chicago State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in
18Biological Sciences in 1972 and later a Master of Arts in
19Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in
201974; she earned her M.D. in 1978 in Pediatrics and later a
21Master of Public Health in 1986, both from the University of
22Illinois at Chicago; and
 
23    WHEREAS, For more than 30 years, Dr. Mable Blackwell used

 

 

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1her medical training in service as a practicing physician,
2medical administrator, and academician; she held positions at
3Mercy Hospital and Medical Center and John H. Stroger, Jr.
4Hospital of Cook County; she served as the Regional Medical
5Director for the Chicago Department of Public Health, the
6Medical Director for the Illinois Department of Human Services,
7and the Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director for the Will
8County Health Department and Community Health Center; for
9almost 10 years, she served as a Clinical Associate Professor
10in the Department of Pediatrics and as the Director of the
11Office of Public Health Practice at the University of Illinois
12at Chicago College of Medicine; while as a professor and
13administrator at the University of Illinois at Chicago, she
14served as a consultant to the Illinois Office of Inspector
15General, Division of Medical Integrity; she was also a Visiting
16Professor at Chicago State University; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Dr. Mable Blackwell's service extended nationally
18and internationally, as well as within the State of Illinois;
19she served as a Professional Peer Reviewer for the United
20States Department of Health and Human Resources' Health
21Resources and Service Administration, the National Institute
22of Health, the National Cancer Institute Office of Cancer
23Program Support, and the United States Department of Education
24Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education; her
25concern for providing adequate healthcare for infants,

 

 

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1children, and adults throughout the world led her to visit and
2examine health delivery practices, access, and barriers
3throughout West Africa, Japan, China, Thailand, Mexico, and
4South Africa, which included serving as an invited planning
5meeting participant on the Establishing a Post Apartheid Health
6System for South Africa conference sponsored by the W.K.
7Kellogg Foundation at the University of Illinois at Chicago;
8and
 
9    WHEREAS, Dr. Mable Blackwell was a Fellow of the American
10Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy for Cerebral
11Palsy and Developmental Medicine; she was awarded several
12research grants for her work in minority and adolescent
13medicine and in support of her public service and public health
14initiatives; some of those awards include the Adolescent Access
15to Healthcare, the American Teachers of Preventive Medicine,
16University of Illinois; Healthy Solutions, American Academy of
17Pediatrics; Health Professions School Service to the Nation,
18Pew Health Commission, University of California at San
19Francisco; Community Based Public Health 2000, W.K. Kellogg
20Foundation; Public Health Practice Initiative, Health Resource
21Services Administration, U.S. Public Health Service,
22Department of Human Services; Community-Based Public Health
23Practice, Leadership Development, W.K. Kellogg Foundation; and
 
24    WHEREAS, Dr. Mable Blackwell served as the CEO of Blackwell

 

 

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1Consulting Services, Inc. in Public Health Services, serving
2the southern Chicago metropolitan area; she managed the Title
3II Specialized Training and Education Program Services
4(STEPS), Mayor's Office of Employment and Training; she was a
5member of the American Medical Association, the American
6Society for Healthcare Risk Management and Patient Safety, the
7American Public Health Association, the American Medical
8Directors Association, and the Cook County Physicians
9Association; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Dr. Mable Blackwell was deeply committed to her
11family and friends and was forever mindful of the contributions
12her parents made to their community, as well as to her and her
13siblings' lives; in honor of her parents, she founded the
14Herman T. and Ruth K. Blackwell Foundation INC, a non-profit
15public charity established to support and encourage
16communities in improving the quality of life for themselves and
17future generations; proceeds from the Foundation are an endowed
18scholarship by the same name at Morehouse College; she served
19as Chairperson of the Foundation until her death; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Dr. Mable Blackwell was baptized at St. Luke
21Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Champaign; in 1995, she
22joined Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and became an
23active member; she was involved with the Project Jeremiah and
24the Yoga ministries; she enjoyed gardening, yoga, and playing

 

 

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1tennis; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Dr. Mable Blackwell was preceded in death by her
3parents, Herman T. and Ruth K. Blackwell; her brothers, Duane
4W. Blackwell and William N. Blackwell; and her sister, Diana D.
5Polk; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Dr. Mable Blackwell is survived by her daughter,
7Samantha S. Fields and son, Ryan E. Fields; her sisters,
8Dorothy R. Coleman (Dejustice), Doris K. Butts (Stanley), Wilma
9J. Conwell, Clara Johnson (Samuel), and Ave M. Blackwell
10Alvarado; her brothers, Robert T. Blackwell (Carolyn) and
11Victor E. Blackwell (Kimberly); and host of nephews, nieces,
12cousins, and friends; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
14ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
15Dr. Mable Louise Blackwell, and extend our sincere condolences
16to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be
17it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19presented to the family of Dr. Mable Blackwell as an expression
20of our deepest sympathy.