SR0868 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0868 LRB102 26431 LAW 36765 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Josephine "Jo" Baskin Minow of Chicago, who passed away at the age of 95; and

WHEREAS, Josephine Baskin Minow earned her Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University in 1948; and

WHEREAS, Josephine Baskin Minow was a prominent organizer and advocate; while raising her three children, she also fought to improve the lives of others; after teaching kindergarten and 5th grade at Francis W. Parker School in the late 1940s, she later became president of the Juvenile Protective Association originally founded by Jane Addams; her work with children led her to be part of the Citizens Committee of the Juvenile Court, and she became a prominent member of the Jane Addams Juvenile Court Foundation; and

WHEREAS, While her husband worked in government in Washington, D.C., Josephine Baskin Minow helped create the Hospitality and Information Service (T.H.I.S.), operating out of the U.S. Department of State, which welcomes diplomats and their families to D.C. and helps them navigate stays in the capital; and

WHEREAS, Josephine Baskin Minow funneled her advocacy for children and passion for writing into writing children's books, and she authored three; she wrote Marty the Broken-Hearted Artichoke, which was published in 1992, distributed free to nonprofits across the country, and chosen by then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to be read at the inaugural Reach Out and Read project at the University of Chicago Friends Children's Clinic; and

WHEREAS, Josephine Baskin Minow served on the boards of many of Chicago's most significant civic organizations, including the Chicago History Museum, the Ravinia Music Festival, Chicago's Center on Halsted, and Know Your Chicago; she was a founding member of the Northwestern University Women's Board in 1978 and a member of the women's boards of the University of Chicago and the Field Museum; she was a governing member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; she served both as director and executive committee member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs; she became a member of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board in Springfield at the age of 80; and

WHEREAS, Josephine Baskin Minow was a staunch believer in equal rights and advocacy; during college, she was a member of the Quibblers, a group advocating against the exclusion of members of racial minority groups from university housing; in the mid-1970s, she joined a group of women pushing department stores to end racial discrimination, meeting with Marshall Field's to advocate for Black sales associates to be allowed on the floor; and

WHEREAS, Josephine Baskin Minow played the role of assistant to Henry Fonda's character Robert Leffingwell in the 1962 dramatic movie Advise and Consent; and

WHEREAS, Josephine Baskin Minow received a number of accolades over the course of her life; she was given an award from the Ravinia Music Festival for her work as a trustee in the 1980s; she received the honor of having the Jo Baskin Minow Balcony Gallery at the Chicago History Museum dedicated in her honor in 2015; she was honored with the Caroline Margaret McIlvaine Making History Award for Distinction in Creative Cultural Leadership from the Chicago History Museum in 2018; and

WHEREAS, Josephine Baskin Minow had a lifetime love affair with Chicago and its history; she meticulously chronicled her family's life in scrapbooks, totaling 70 volumes that she donated to the Chicago History Museum; she will be especially remembered for dedication and service to the City of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Josephine Baskin Minow is survived by her husband of 72 years, Newton N. Minow; her daughters, Nell, Martha, and Mary; her sons-in-law, David Apatoff and Joseph Singer; and her grandchildren, Ben Apatoff, Rachel (Scott Collette) Apatoff, and Mira Singer; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Josephine "Jo" Baskin Minow 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 Josephine Baskin Minow as an expression of our deepest sympathy.