Full Text of HR0476 97th General Assembly
HR0476 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Elizabeth | 4 | | Ford, who passed away at the age of 93 on July 8, 2011; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Bloomer was born on April 8, 1918, in | 6 | | Chicago; she was raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she | 7 | | displayed an early talent for dance and began to study | 8 | | seriously at the age of 14; her progress was such that, by the | 9 | | age of 20, she was offered tuition by the choreographer Martha | 10 | | Graham in New York, joined her teacher's auxiliary company for | 11 | | performances at Carnegie Hall, and worked as a fashion model to | 12 | | earn extra cash; she later moved back to the Michigan area at | 13 | | her mother's request; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Within a year, Elizabeth Bloomer had married an | 15 | | old school sweetheart and left home, though the marriage was | 16 | | soon ended by mutual consent; in 1948, she married Gerald Ford, | 17 | | a lawyer fresh out of the wartime Navy and just embarking on | 18 | | his political career in the United States House of | 19 | | Representatives; the couple would be married for 58 years, | 20 | | until his death in December of 2006; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, In 1973, as Mrs. Ford was happily anticipating her | 22 | | husband's retirement from politics, Vice President Spiro T. |
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| 1 | | Agnew was forced out of office over bribery charges, which led | 2 | | President Richard Nixon to turn to Gerald Ford to fill the | 3 | | office; Less than a year later, on August 9, 1974, Gerald Ford | 4 | | was sworn in as the only chief executive in American history | 5 | | who had not been elected either president or vice president; | 6 | | Mrs. Ford wrote of her sudden ascent to First Lady: "It was | 7 | | like going to a party you're terrified of, and finding out to | 8 | | your amazement that you're having a good time"; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Betty Ford was 56 when she moved into the White | 10 | | House, and looked more matronly than modern; ever gracious, she | 11 | | tended to speak softly and slowly, even when taking a feminist | 12 | | stand; she used her newfound influence as the First Lady to | 13 | | lobby aggressively to speak against child abuse, raise money | 14 | | for handicapped children, espouse the rights of girls and | 15 | | women, and support the performing arts; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, As a leader and advocate for the rights of women, | 17 | | Betty Ford won high praise for her courageous support of breast | 18 | | cancer awareness following her 1974 mastectomy; after the Fords | 19 | | left the White House in January of 1977, she also raised | 20 | | awareness of addiction problems with her announcement of her | 21 | | long-running battle with alcoholism and drug addiction; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Betty Ford used the unvarnished story of her own | 23 | | descent and recovery to crusade for better addiction treatment, |
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| 1 | | especially for women; she was a co-founder of the non-profit | 2 | | Betty Ford Center, located near the Fords' home in Rancho | 3 | | Mirage, California, in 1982; she raised millions of dollars for | 4 | | the center, kept close watch over its operations, and regularly | 5 | | welcomed groups of new patients; she was also a recipient of | 6 | | the Congressional Gold Medal (co-presentation with her | 7 | | husband, Gerald R. Ford, on October 21, 1998) and the | 8 | | Presidential Medal of Freedom (alone, presented in 1991 by | 9 | | President George H.W. Bush); and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Betty Ford is survived by her children, Michael, | 11 | | John, Steven, and Susan Ford, and her many grandchildren and | 12 | | great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 14 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 15 | | we mourn, along with her family and friends, the passing of | 16 | | former First Lady Elizabeth Ford; and be it further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 | | presented to the family of Betty Ford as a symbol of our | 19 | | sincere sympathy and respect for her service in the White House | 20 | | and as a private citizen.
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