Full Text of HR0361 94th General Assembly
HR0361 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HR0361 |
|
LRB094 12147 CSA 45533 r |
|
| 1 |
| HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives were saddened to learn of the death of William | 4 |
| "Les" Brown of Chicago on April 11, 2005; and
| 5 |
| WHEREAS, Mr. Brown was the founder of the Chicago Coalition | 6 |
| for the
Homeless, which he headed for over two decades; the | 7 |
| coalition, founded in 1980, strived towards improving the lives | 8 |
| of homeless and impoverished people throughout Chicago; and
| 9 |
| WHEREAS, William "Les" Brown was born William Leslie Brown | 10 |
| in 1940, in Tampa, Florida; he grew up on a small farm in | 11 |
| Doraville, Georgia, where he developed his love for the | 12 |
| outdoors; and
| 13 |
| WHEREAS, He earned a bachelor's degree from Erskine College | 14 |
| in South Carolina; he also received a master's degree in social | 15 |
| work from Loyola University Chicago; in between receiving the | 16 |
| two degrees, he enlisted in the Air Force and served as a | 17 |
| medical corpsman in England; and
| 18 |
| WHEREAS, He was the first president of the Chicago | 19 |
| Coalition for the Homeless, later serving as its executive | 20 |
| director; from 1990 until his death, he served as the | 21 |
| coalition's director of policy; the coalition helped host the | 22 |
| first national conference on homelessness in Chicago in 1983; | 23 |
| and
| 24 |
| WHEREAS, In 1984, he received a heart transplant at Loyola | 25 |
| University Medical Center in Maywood; he was the hospital's | 26 |
| longest surviving heart transplant recipient; and
| 27 |
| WHEREAS, He was a founder and former president of the | 28 |
| Illinois Coalition for the Homeless; he was also a founding | 29 |
| board member of the newspaper, Streetwise, as well as a board |
|
|
|
HR0361 |
- 2 - |
LRB094 12147 CSA 45533 r |
|
| 1 |
| member for other local and state groups advocating for | 2 |
| improving the lives of the homeless; and
| 3 |
| WHEREAS, Mr. Brown served as director of social work | 4 |
| services for the Travelers and Immigrants Aid Society, which is | 5 |
| now the Heartland Alliance; he also documented the growing | 6 |
| number of homeless people living at the Greyhound bus terminal, | 7 |
| Union Station, and O'Hare Airport; and
| 8 |
| WHEREAS, His accomplishments include leading protests that | 9 |
| led to low-income apartment units being established in the | 10 |
| government-subsidized West Loop Presidential Towers complex; | 11 |
| he utilized a federal law to successfully acquire lakefront | 12 |
| land near Navy Pier; the land he acquired was originally to be | 13 |
| used as gardens to provide work for homeless people, but was | 14 |
| later exchanged for land on the South Side that became the | 15 |
| "Growing Home" agriculture job training program; and
| 16 |
| WHEREAS, He also helped acquire 10 acres of land in | 17 |
| Marseilles that is currently farmed by homeless people from | 18 |
| Chicago; and
| 19 |
| WHEREAS, Mr. Brown is survived by his wife, Diana Leifer; | 20 |
| his son, Jesse; his daughter, Mari Herreras-Zinman; his sister, | 21 |
| Claudia Lewis; and his two grandchildren; therefore, be it
| 22 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 23 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 24 |
| we mourn the passing of William "Les" Brown along with all who | 25 |
| knew and loved him and extend our sincere condolences to his | 26 |
| family, friends, and community; and be it further
| 27 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 28 |
| presented to the family of William "Les" Brown as an expression | 29 |
| of our deepest sympathy.
|
|