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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to recognize Dorothy Brown for her 15
4years of service as the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook
5County and as one of the longest-serving countywide
6African-American elected officials; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Dorothy Brown was elected Clerk of the Circuit
8Court of Cook County in 2000 and has been re-elected to 3
9additional terms; 4 consecutive victories by overwhelming
10margins illustrate voter confidence in her abilities as the
11official keeper of records for all judicial matters brought
12into one of the largest unified court systems in the world; she
13is responsible for managing an annual operating budget of more
14than $100 million and has a workforce of 1,800 employees; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Dorothy Brown has brought revolutionary changes
16to the operations of the circuit court clerk's office through
17her focus on improving services within 5 strategic areas: 21st
18century technology, operational efficiency, customer service,
19employee training and development, and financial
20accountability; she has implemented a host of innovative
21programs that have streamlined processes, improved quality
22service, saved millions of dollars for taxpayers, and increased
23revenue for Cook County; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Before her time as Clerk of the Circuit Court of
2Cook County, Dorothy Brown served from 1991 to 2000 as the
3General Auditor for the Chicago Transit Authority; prior to
4that, she worked for one of the "Big Eight" accounting firms, a
5major utility company, and a major Chicago Bank; she also
6helped start a minority CPA firm; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Dorothy Brown is a past President of the National
8Woman's Political Caucus of Greater Chicago, a past President
9of the Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, and a past
10President of the Southeast Case Management Auxiliary Board; she
11has served as Treasurer for both Working in the Schools (WITS)
12and the Illinois Chapter of the American Association of
13Attorneys and Certified Public Accountants; she is the founder
14and executive director of the Dorothy Brown Scholarship and
15Community Development Fund, an organization developed to
16secure funding for college-bound students; she is a member of
17the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and a member of the King of
18Glory Tabernacle Church of God in Christ; her professional
19memberships include the Chicago Bar Association, the Cook
20County Bar Association, the Black Women Lawyers' Association,
21and the Illinois Association of Certified Public Accountants;
22and
 
23    WHEREAS, Dorothy Brown has been recognized by various

 

 

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1organizations for her outstanding professional and public
2service; among her numerous accolades, she was awarded the 2002
3Hillary Rodham Clinton Leadership Award from the Illinois
4Democratic Women, the 2003 Marks of Excellence Award from the
5National Forum for Black Public Administrators, the 2003 Women
6of Achievement Award from the Anti-Defamation League, the 2004
7NAACP Medal of Freedom from the Proviso/Leyden Township in
8Illinois, the 2004 Pakistan Women Association Outstanding
9Community Service Award, the 2005 "Voice of Freedom Award" from
10the Harriet Beecher Stowe Fine & Performing Arts Academy, the
112006 Justinian Society of Lawyers Humanitarian Award, the 2006
12Indian American Medical Association Public Service Award, the
13Information Integrity Coalition's 2007 Excellence in
14Information Integrity Award Finalist, Nielsen's 2007 "Single
15Mama of the Year" award, the Illinois Institute of Technology
162007 Professional Achievement Award, the Youth Pride Center's
172008 Youth Advocate of the Year Award, the Demoiselle 2 Femme's
182008 Community Partnership Award, the Illinois Traffic Safety
19Leaders 2009 Joanne Blair Award, the 2009 Chicago-Kent
20Professional Achievement Award, and the Cook County Bar
21Association's "2010 Law Day Award of Appreciation"; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Dorothy Brown graduated from Webster High School,
23where she was in the top 10% of her class and captain of the
24girls' basketball team; she graduated magna cum laude from
25Southern University in 1975; she received her Certified Public

 

 

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1Accountant certification in 1977, her Master's in Business
2Administration with honors from DePaul University in Chicago in
31981, and her Juris Doctorate with honors in 1996 from
4Chicago-Kent College of Law; she lives in Chicago with her
5husband, Dr. Benton Cook, and has a daughter, Detris;
6therefore, be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
8NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
9recognize Dorothy Brown for serving 15 years as the Clerk of
10the Circuit Court of Cook County and as one of the
11longest-serving countywide African-American elected officials
12and we wish her many more successful years; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14presented to Dorothy Brown as an expression of our esteem and
15respect.