HR0498 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0498 LRB095 12365 GRL 37219 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Angela Perez Miller of Chicago, who passed away on May 26, 2007; and

WHEREAS, Angela Perez Miller's family came to Chicago in the 1920s from Mexico; her parents were the late Jesse and Emilia Perez; and

WHEREAS, Angela Perez Miller attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she acquired two master's degrees and a Ph.D in public policy analysis; she was a former Chicago public school elementary school teacher and administrator; her last job with the district was director of staff training and development in the Department of Special Education; as an educator, she focused much of her professional life pushing for bilingual education and helping Hispanic children, specifically those with special education needs; after her departure from the Chicago public schools she taught bilingual education and educational policy at DePaul University and the University of Illinois at Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Angela Perez Miller was a past board president of the Latino Institute, a civil rights think tank that addressed Latino concerns in Chicago; at one time, it was noted as one of the largest and most influential Hispanic think tanks in Chicago; she was a member of Senator Miguel Del Valle's education committee and a founding member of the Alivio Medical Center, which opened in 1989 to provide access to primary health care services to predominately Latino communities; and

WHEREAS, Angela Perez Miller was an avid traveler and opera lover; she frequently traveled to Mexico and other places with her girlfriends, a group of Latina women who called themselves "Las Viejas", a term used to refer to respected female elders; and

WHEREAS, Angela Perez Miller will be remembered by all who knew her as a passionate, compassionate, and fearless woman who focused herself fully on the success of Latino schoolchildren in the city of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Angela Perez Miller was the loving mother of Dion Miller (Susan Mullen) Perez; the proud grandmother of Donovan, Manuel, and Antonio; and the dear cousin of the late Manuel Perez Jr.; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with her family and friends, the passing of Angela Perez Miller; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Angela Perez Miller as an expression of our sympathy.