Full Text of SR0888 96th General Assembly
SR0888 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of former State Representative Mary Lou | 4 | | Cowlishaw, who passed away on June 23, 2010; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, She was born February 20, 1932, in Rockford, to | 6 | | Donald George and Mildred Corinne (Hayes) Miller; she graduated | 7 | | as valedictorian from West Rockford High School; she majored in | 8 | | and received her Bachelor of Science degree in journalism at | 9 | | the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and did | 10 | | post-graduate studies at Northwestern University; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Her honorary degrees included a Doctor of Humane | 12 | | Letters degree from North Central College in 1999 and from | 13 | | Benedictine University in 2000; at the time of her passing, she | 14 | | was an Adjunct Professor of Education at North Central College; | 15 | | and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, She married Wayne Cowlishaw on July 24, 1954; they | 17 | | had three children, Beth (David) McDaniel, John (Jane) | 18 | | Cowlishaw, and Paula (Andrew) Rader, and eight grandchildren, | 19 | | Jacob McDaniel, Zachary, Maxwell, Alexandria, and Rachel | 20 | | Green-Cowlishaw, and Emily, Elizabeth, and John Paul (J.P.) | 21 | | Rader; she was preceded in death by her parents and her son, | 22 | | John; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, She had been a Naperville resident since 1958; she | 2 | | served on the Naperville District 203 Board of Education from | 3 | | 1972-1983; prior to her election to the Illinois General | 4 | | Assembly in November of 1982, she was a member of the editorial | 5 | | staff of the Naperville Sun; in 1981, she won the first place | 6 | | annual award for investigative reporting from the Illinois | 7 | | Press Association and authored the book " This Band's Been Here | 8 | | Quite a Spell... " about the history of the Naperville Municipal | 9 | | Band; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, She served as the Representative from the 41st | 11 | | District from 1983 to 2003; during her 20 years in the | 12 | | legislature representing Naperville, she sponsored countless | 13 | | proposals, including the Chicago School Reform legislation, | 14 | | which became a model for the nation; she also sponsored the | 15 | | Education for Homeless Children Act and the legislation | 16 | | creating the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy; she | 17 | | sponsored changes regarding hospital districts that ultimately | 18 | | enabled Naperville's Edward Hospital to go from public to | 19 | | private status; she was later credited for "saving" the | 20 | | hospital; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, House committees she served on during her time in | 22 | | the legislature included the Elementary and Secondary | 23 | | Education Committee, Public Utilities Committee, Mental Health |
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| 1 | | and Patient Abuse Committee, Higher Education Appropriations | 2 | | Committee, and the Select Committee on Aging; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, She was a member of many of Naperville's civic | 4 | | organizations; she, along with friends, spearheaded the | 5 | | creation of the Naperville Park District; she was a member of | 6 | | the Community United Methodist Church for 50 years; she was the | 7 | | recipient of many legislative and public service awards, | 8 | | including the one that was most special for her, the naming of | 9 | | a new elementary school in 1997 in Indian Prairie School | 10 | | District 204 as the "Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary School"; she | 11 | | also received the "Golden Apple" award four times from the | 12 | | Illinois Association of School Boards; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 15 | | her family, friends, and former constituents, the passing of | 16 | | Mary Lou Cowlishaw; and be it further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 | | presented to the family of Mary Lou Cowlishaw as a symbol of | 19 | | our sincere sympathy.
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