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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the | ||||||
3 | State of Illinois learned with
deep sorrow and regret of the | ||||||
4 | death of our friend and colleague, State Representative Esther
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5 | Golar of Chicago, on Monday, September 21, 2015; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Representative Golar was born in Chicago on April | ||||||
7 | 16, 1944, one of 9 children;
a lifelong resident of Chicago's | ||||||
8 | South Side, she grew up in the West Englewood neighborhood,
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9 | graduated from Richard T. Crane High School and Malcolm X | ||||||
10 | College, and resided in the
Englewood and New City | ||||||
11 | neighborhoods; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Representative Golar made her mark as a dedicated | ||||||
13 | public servant and local leader,
building local organizations, | ||||||
14 | advocating for greater public safety, and fighting for those | ||||||
15 | who
struggle; she was a coordinator for the Chicago Alternative | ||||||
16 | Policing Strategy for more than 15
years and an organizer for | ||||||
17 | the Chicago Alliance for Neighborhood Safety, training | ||||||
18 | residents to
build friendlier and safer communities; she was a | ||||||
19 | community service representative at Robert
Fulton School and a | ||||||
20 | resident board member of Neighborhood Housing Services of | ||||||
21 | Chicago, Inc.;
strong in faith, she attended and volunteered at | ||||||
22 | Trinity United Church of Christ; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Representative Golar's passion for helping others | ||||||
2 | and improving the quality of life
in Chicago and throughout the | ||||||
3 | State led to her involvement in dozens of community and service
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4 | organizations, including Children's Home and Aid, the Back of | ||||||
5 | the Yards Neighborhood Council,
the Chicago Coalition for the | ||||||
6 | Homeless, LUBAA Women's Shelter, the Canaryville Little | ||||||
7 | League,
Teamwork Englewood, the Englewood Black Chamber of | ||||||
8 | Commerce, Faith in Place, Ada S.
McKinley Community Services, | ||||||
9 | The Arc of Illinois, Faith Coalition for the Common Good, | ||||||
10 | Illinois
Action for Children, and the Anti-Violence Initiative | ||||||
11 | at the University of Chicago School of
Public Health; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, Representative Golar worked for the Chicago | ||||||
13 | Police Department on Chicago's
South and West sides in the | ||||||
14 | Troubled Buildings Unit and as a Community Policing | ||||||
15 | Coordinator; a testament to her selflessness and loyalty, | ||||||
16 | though she began her service with the Police Department
on | ||||||
17 | Chicago's South Side, after she was transferred to the West | ||||||
18 | Side, she continued to help her coworkers
on the South Side; | ||||||
19 | and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, Representative Golar joined the Illinois House of | ||||||
21 | Representatives in 2005;
committed to constituent service, her | ||||||
22 | constituents would often stop her at the
grocery store, the | ||||||
23 | pharmacy, and throughout the community asking for assistance; | ||||||
24 | she did her
best to deliver needed services, from street |
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1 | sweeping and street lighting to enforcing child
support | ||||||
2 | payments; she regularly attended events in the community, such | ||||||
3 | as the Englewood Back
to School Parade and the Resident | ||||||
4 | Association of Greater Englewood's "So Fresh Saturdays"
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5 | series; she visited and met with constituents, and worked to | ||||||
6 | build bridges and strengthen
relationships for the betterment | ||||||
7 | of local neighborhoods; and | ||||||
8 | WHEREAS, Representative Golar's legislative | ||||||
9 | responsibilities were a reflection of her priorities
and her | ||||||
10 | determination to improve the lives of not only her constituents | ||||||
11 | but of all Illinois residents;
she fought for safer | ||||||
12 | neighborhoods, stronger schools and additional educational | ||||||
13 | resources for
children, equal access to health care and | ||||||
14 | economic development; she advocated for seniors,
persons with | ||||||
15 | disabilities, and for better wages and a better standard of | ||||||
16 | living for the middle class and
struggling families; one of the | ||||||
17 | first laws she passed was aimed at increasing State payments to
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18 | vendors of homemaker, chore, and housekeeping services for the | ||||||
19 | purpose of increasing
employees' wages and providing health | ||||||
20 | insurance; and | ||||||
21 | WHEREAS, Throughout her nearly 10 years in the House of | ||||||
22 | Representatives, Representative
Golar served as House | ||||||
23 | Chairwoman of the Legislative Black Caucus, Chair of the | ||||||
24 | Elementary
and Secondary Education: School Curriculum and |
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1 | Policies Committee, Chair of the Public
Policy and | ||||||
2 | Accountability for Education Committee, and Chair and | ||||||
3 | Vice-Chair of the Housing
and Disability Services committees; | ||||||
4 | her committee membership included service on the
Elementary and | ||||||
5 | Secondary Education, Child Support Enforcement, Health Care | ||||||
6 | Availability and
Accessibility, Human Services Appropriations, | ||||||
7 | Elementary and Secondary Education
Appropriations, and | ||||||
8 | Judiciary-Criminal Law Committees; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, Representative Golar's legislative achievements | ||||||
10 | include the Senator Penny Severns
Memorial Award for her | ||||||
11 | advocacy for persons with disabilities, the Back of the Yards
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12 | Neighborhood Leadership Award, and the Safer Foundation's | ||||||
13 | CARRE Visionary Award for her
outstanding contributions to | ||||||
14 | eliminate barriers to employment for people with criminal | ||||||
15 | records; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Representative Golar was adored and respected by | ||||||
17 | her friends and colleagues and
will be remembered for her | ||||||
18 | resolve, her commitment to public service, her devotion to | ||||||
19 | faith, her
kindness, her sense of humor, and for bringing | ||||||
20 | levity to sometimes tense moments with her gift
of song; her | ||||||
21 | quiet nature and friendly demeanor were a reflection of her | ||||||
22 | warm personality, but
she never hesitated to rise and fight for | ||||||
23 | the disadvantaged, the most vulnerable and those who
struggle; | ||||||
24 | and
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1 | WHEREAS, Representative Golar was a loving sister, the | ||||||
2 | proud mother of Tiffany Golar, and the
devoted grandmother of | ||||||
3 | Briana Golar, Toni Common, Ananea Common, and Jayden Golar; and
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4 | WHEREAS, The death of Representative Golar is deeply felt | ||||||
5 | by her family, friends and
all who knew and loved her, and her | ||||||
6 | presence at the State Capitol will be greatly missed; | ||||||
7 | therefore, be it
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8 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
9 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
10 | we, along with her family and
friends, mourn the passing of | ||||||
11 | State Representative Esther Golar; and be it further
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12 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
13 | presented to the family of Representative Golar as
an | ||||||
14 | expression of our deepest sympathies and respect.
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