HR0735 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0735 LRB102 26730 LAW 37617 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Ina Dews of Elgin, who passed away on March 9, 2022 at the age of 85; and

WHEREAS, Ina Dews was born on March 8, 1937; she moved with her family from Chicago to Elgin in 1964; she was a longtime Elgin resident; and

WHEREAS, Ina Dews sacrificed her time, talents, and financial resources, working to end discriminatory practices in Elgin through her involvement with the Elgin Human Relations Commission; she served on the commission until February 2010; she also worked on various public housing-related matters over the decades; and

WHEREAS, Ina Dews was heavily involved with her local community in Elgin, helping at the summer Downtown Harvest Market and assisting with the city's annual Martin Luther King Day commemorations; she was also instrumental in persuading the Elgin City Council to rename Route 20 "Martin Luther King Drive"; and

WHEREAS, Ina Dews was an artist, particularly in making quilts; she donated three quilts to the Illinois State Museum in Springfield in 2008, one of which she made when she was 15 and the others were made by aunts who taught her quilt-making, becoming the first quilts made by Black people to be added to the museum's collection; and

WHEREAS, Ina Dews participated in religious missions that took her to the Imbabazi Orphanage in Gisenyi, Rwanda in 2007, during which she taught crocheting and quilting to children, and to Zimbabwe in 1996, where she shared her passion for knitting and quilting with street vendors and learned new stitches; and

WHEREAS, Ina Dews was honored by the Illinois House of Representatives and the City of Elgin to mark her 80th birthday in 2017; and

WHEREAS, Ina Dews helped others to understand the past, teaching timeless lessons of courage and endurance through her legacy of community activism, service, and responsibility; she served as a role model for younger generations; and

WHEREAS, Ina Dews was the mother of six children; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Ina Dews and extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Ina Dews as an expression of our deepest sympathy.