Full Text of HR1326 94th General Assembly
HR1326 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HR1326 |
|
LRB094 20571 HLH 58883 r |
|
| 1 |
| HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the | 3 |
| State of Illinois learned with great sadness of the death of | 4 |
| their dear friend and colleague Lovana "Lou" Jones on May 8, | 5 |
| 2006; and
| 6 |
| WHEREAS, She was born March 28, 1938 in Mansfield, Ohio to | 7 |
| Louise and Sylvester Walker; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, She attended high school in Mansfield before | 9 |
| earning a Bachelor's degree in business administration from | 10 |
| Ohio State University; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, She moved with her mother to Illinois in 1959, | 12 |
| settling in Chicago's Douglas/Grand Boulevard neighborhood; | 13 |
| her sister joined them later; and
| 14 |
| WHEREAS, She was the mother of Timothy Walker, the late | 15 |
| Stephanie Walker, and the late Leslie Walker Boyd; she was a | 16 |
| grandmother of seven: Tivaughn Walker, Timothy A. Walker, | 17 |
| William Ramone Bradley Boyd, Nicholas A. Boyd, Carolyn N. Boyd, | 18 |
| Triston T. Boyd, and Timika L. Walker; and
| 19 |
| WHEREAS, She was a member of Metropolitan Apostolic | 20 |
| Community Church, serving on its Mothers Board, and a deeply | 21 |
| spiritual woman whose faith was a source of great strength and | 22 |
| helped to see her through times of adversity; and
| 23 |
| WHEREAS, She worked for the United States Postal Service, | 24 |
| American Bank, and for the City of Chicago, and she volunteered | 25 |
| as a member of innumerable boards and civic organizations; and
| 26 |
| WHEREAS, She was long involved in Democratic politics and | 27 |
| helped the late Harold Washington, then a United States | 28 |
| Congressman, to make history by becoming the first |
|
|
|
HR1326 |
- 2 - |
LRB094 20571 HLH 58883 r |
|
| 1 |
| African-American mayor of the City of Chicago in 1983; and
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, She was first elected to the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives in 1986 and re-elected nine times thereafter; | 4 |
| and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, She was first appointed as an assistant majority | 6 |
| leader in 1989; she was the chairperson of the Public Safety | 7 |
| Appropriations Committee; she served as a delegate to the 1996 | 8 |
| Democratic National Convention; she was a revered member of the | 9 |
| House Legislative Black Caucus; she was a mentor and | 10 |
| inspiration to younger members of the legislature; she was | 11 |
| admired by fellow legislators from both sides of the aisle who | 12 |
| often sought her counsel and advice; and
| 13 |
| WHEREAS, She was known for her candor, sharp wit, and | 14 |
| willingness to speak the truth to power; she was a formidable | 15 |
| debater, equally at ease offering a profound point on a matter | 16 |
| of public policy as she was at leaving her colleagues in | 17 |
| stitches with a funny story or memorable retort; and
| 18 |
| WHEREAS, Throughout her life she treated others, | 19 |
| regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, income, | 20 |
| or sexual orientation, with the same degree of dignity and | 21 |
| respect to which she believed that all human beings were | 22 |
| entitled, and she demanded that others do the same; she fought | 23 |
| discrimination in all its forms; she was a great leader in the | 24 |
| struggle for equal rights for minorities and insistent that | 25 |
| people of color have a place at the table; and
| 26 |
| WHEREAS, She firmly held that, as the gospels say, | 27 |
| ultimately all will be made to account for how they treated the | 28 |
| least among us; she devoted her energies and talents as a | 29 |
| legislator to giving voice to the voiceless, comfort to the | 30 |
| infirm, and assistance to the poor; and
|
|
|
|
HR1326 |
- 3 - |
LRB094 20571 HLH 58883 r |
|
| 1 |
| WHEREAS, She leaves an extraordinary legislative legacy; | 2 |
| she was passionate in her commitment to criminal justice reform | 3 |
| and also an advocate for crime victims, with a special focus on | 4 |
| supporting battered women's efforts to rebuild their lives; she | 5 |
| secured funding for projects, organizations, and institutions | 6 |
| that could make a positive difference for her constituents, | 7 |
| including billions more for schools throughout the State; she | 8 |
| demanded that minority hiring be a requirement for public works | 9 |
| projects; she brought new attention to the problem of | 10 |
| postpartum depression; she helped to enact programs that | 11 |
| allowed senior citizens to afford their prescription | 12 |
| medications and have the dignity of leading independent lives; | 13 |
| she led the effort to give ex-offenders a second chance through | 14 |
| her work on record expungement for non-violent crimes; she | 15 |
| worked to make Illinois a leader in providing health care | 16 |
| coverage to the uninsured; she led efforts to arrange the | 17 |
| State's purchase of the John Hart Crenshaw House, also known as | 18 |
| the Old Slave House, in Gallatin County in 2000 to make sure | 19 |
| this part of African-American history in Illinois was | 20 |
| understood and appreciated by future generations; and
| 21 |
| WHEREAS, While she was justly proud of her many | 22 |
| achievements as a legislator, she felt that they paled in | 23 |
| comparison to her pride in the accomplishments of her | 24 |
| grandchildren, including those whose care and raising she | 25 |
| undertook after her daughter's passing more than a decade ago; | 26 |
| she used her experience to become an advocate for grandparents | 27 |
| raising grandchildren and to increase public awareness about | 28 |
| the subject and to pass legislation to provide college | 29 |
| assistance to help families who find themselves taking on such | 30 |
| a demanding challenge at an advanced age; and
| 31 |
| WHEREAS, The passing of Lovana "Lou" Jones has been deeply | 32 |
| felt by many, especially her son, Timothy Walker; her sister, | 33 |
| Mary Springfield; her brothers, Harvey Day and Bradley K. | 34 |
| Walker; her step-sister, Sylvia Hunter; and her many |
|
|
|
HR1326 |
- 4 - |
LRB094 20571 HLH 58883 r |
|
| 1 |
| grandchildren, cousins, nieces, nephews, friends, and | 2 |
| neighbors; therefore, be it
| 3 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 4 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 5 |
| we mourn the passing of Lovana "Lou" Jones, a true original, | 6 |
| one of our own, and a woman whose contributions to the civic | 7 |
| life of Illinois and steadfast commitment to her family and the | 8 |
| people she served will long be remembered and celebrated, and | 9 |
| we extend our deepest sympathy to her family, friends, and all | 10 |
| who knew and loved her; and be it further
| 11 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 |
| presented to her family as an expression of our sincerest | 13 |
| condolences.
|
|