Full Text of SR0982 102nd General Assembly
SR0982 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Helen Marie Ramirez-Odell of Chicago, | 4 | | who passed away on March 22, 2022; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell was born Helen Hershinow in | 6 | | Chicago on July 22, 1942; she grew up in the Lincoln Square | 7 | | neighborhood of Chicago; she received her Bachelor of Science | 8 | | in Nursing from Loyola University Chicago, becoming a | 9 | | Registered Nurse in 1964; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell worked as a school nurse in | 11 | | the Chicago Public Schools for over 40 years until her | 12 | | retirement in 2011; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell was a lifelong champion for | 14 | | women; when she discovered that she could not make a needed | 15 | | purchase from Goldblatt's in the late 1960s because they did | 16 | | not extend credit lines to women, her outrage led her to join | 17 | | the Chicago National Organization for Women (NOW) and to | 18 | | become an activist for the passage of the Equal Rights | 19 | | Amendment, a cause she championed until her passing; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell joined the Chicago Teachers | 21 | | Union in the 1970s and became a member of its Women's Rights |
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| 1 | | Committee, which she chaired for more than 20 years; during | 2 | | her tenure, the committee worked to end sexual harassment, | 3 | | supported women's advancement at the Washburne Trade School, | 4 | | sought to improve conditions and employment for women in | 5 | | sports, promoted women's labor history, supported women as | 6 | | political candidates, and fought for women's health, birth | 7 | | control, and reproductive choice, among many other issues; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell was a founder of the Women in | 9 | | Labor History Project in 1995, later called the Working | 10 | | Women's History Project (WWHP); during this time, she was also | 11 | | active in the Chicago Coalition of Labor Union Women and | 12 | | Cassandra: Radical Feminist Nurses Network; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell wrote and published Working | 14 | | Without Uniforms: School Nursing In Chicago 1951 – 2001; she | 15 | | also produced a manuscript titled RN Revolution Needed, which | 16 | | was about the need for a feminist transformation of the | 17 | | nursing profession; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell will be especially remembered | 19 | | for her contributions to women's rights; therefore, be it
| 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 21 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 22 | | Helen Marie Ramirez-Odell and extend our sincere condolences |
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| 1 | | to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be | 2 | | it further
| 3 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 4 | | presented to the family of Helen Ramirez-Odell as an | 5 | | expression of our deepest sympathy.
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