SR0986 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0986 LRB102 27221 LAW 38857 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Linda May Laird Bolton, who passed away on April 2, 2022; and

WHEREAS, Linda Bolton was born to Robert Allen Laird and Maxine Marie Jamison in Danville on May 2, 1948; she attended Danville schools and was home schooled for one year before attending First Baptist Christian Day School; she then attended North Ridge and Danville High School, graduating in 1967; she earned her associate's degree from then-Danville Junior College in 1969; she married Wilbur Wait Bolton at St. James United Methodist Church on January 27, 1973, and they lived in Champaign until 1980, where she attended the University of Illinois for two years; and

WHEREAS, Linda Bolton returned to school for another degree in computer programming and then took a job writing copy and helping to automate the traffic and billing department of WIAI FM; she worked there for 12 years, moving into the news department, where she served as a reporter, anchor, and then news director; during that time, she earned an award for Second Best Downstate News Reporting from the Illinois News Broadcasters; and

WHEREAS, Linda Bolton was recruited by Public Health Administrator Steve Laker to be in charge of Community Health Education in 1996 to help the public understand the importance of public health issues; while there, she facilitated three IPLANs, the required community health needs assessments that health departments are required to do for license retention; she earned an award for marketing from the Illinois Public Health Association; locally, she was named a Woman of Distinction; she filled an unexpired term on the Danville City Council, where she served for six years, spending most of that time chairing the Public Works Committee; while at the Vermilion Country Health Department, she graduated with a degree in Organizational Leadership from Greenville College in 2007; she accepted a position as director of Business Development at Vermilion Advantage after 14 years with the health department; and

WHEREAS, Linda Bolton was a certified public information officer with a specialty in Risk Communications, and she served as the volunteer public information officer for Vermilion County Emergency Management for 16 years; she was a past member of Ambucs; she was an active community volunteer, chairing Media/Marketing for the Oldsmobile Balloon Classic for most of its 15 years, and she was proudly one of the organizers and board members of the 2016 Balloons Over Vermilion; she served as president of the Convention and Visitors' Bureau; she was the first female president of the Danville Family YMCA, serving two terms; she volunteered for Festival of Trees for many years, including serving as chair of Marketing/Media; she served as director, producer, board member, and president of the Red Mask Kathryn Randolph Theatre in Danville, where she additionally appeared in a Christmas production with her husband Wilbur on the stage where they met; she also had the rare privilege of appearing as Ouiser in the Beef House Dinner Theatre production of Steel Magnolias; and

WHEREAS, Once she left the news business at WIAI, Linda Bolton was recruited by Michael Hulvey to help with news at Neuhoff Media, where she was asked to helm a morning radio interview show, which she did; she hosted Newsmakers 1490 WAN for many years; she won a Silver Dome award for her community news program from the Illinois Broadcasters Association in 2016; and

WHEREAS, Linda Bolton served on the Presence United Samaritans Medical Center Missions Committee and the Community Leadership Board; she was a board member of the Vermilion County Rape Crisis Center, known today as the Survivor Resource Center; she became an advocate for CASA after she retired; she served on the Danville Police and Fire Commission for many years, assuming the role of chair when the former longtime chair became a judge; she also served on the city's Hispanic/Latino Committee; she served on the Danville Public Library Board of Trustees, assuming the role of president in 2016; she served on the Grants Committee of the Vermilion Area Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors and the Vermilion County Mental Health Initiative; she assisted Vermilion County Board Chairman Mike Marron in facilitating Strategic Planning 2015 from 2016 to 2017, setting a vision for the county's future; and

WHEREAS, Linda Bolton was an active member of St. James United Methodist Church, serving on its Board of Trustees, which she chaired for two terms; she also served on and chaired the Staff/Parish Relations Committee; she then served on the Visioning, Building, and Construction Committees, overseeing renovations to the historic old church; alongside her husband, she was a member of the Keystone Sunday School group; she also served as church archivist, preserving much of the church's history; and

WHEREAS, Alongside her husband, Linda Bolton was part of the original organizers of the vintage baseball team, the Vermilion Voles, and they were very active with the group for a time; they were avid collectors of memorabilia from the 1933/34 Chicago World's Fair; she also collected memorabilia from businesses in the City of Danville and antique Santas; she loved reading, and she belonged to a book club with her husband; and

WHEREAS, Linda Bolton enjoyed sharing lunch and life with a small group of very close friends, and they included Carol Vorel, Jenny Trimmell, Nancy O'Kane, and some special young women she was privileged to mentor over the years, Dona Chiafreddo and Alicia Pettigrew; and

WHEREAS, Linda Bolton always marveled at living such a great life with a truly supportive, understanding husband who made her laugh, never judged, and kept her grounded while never letting her take herself too seriously; 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 Linda May Laird Bolton 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 Linda Bolton as an expression of our deepest sympathy.