Full Text of SR0320 102nd General Assembly
SR0320 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Evelyn Alexander of North Chicago, who | 4 | | passed away on May 14, 2021; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Evelyn Alexander was born to Milton P. Harrison | 6 | | and Bessie Mae Harrison in Evanston on November 1, 1936; she | 7 | | was educated in the Evanston public school system; she | 8 | | graduated with honors from Evanston Township High School in | 9 | | 1954;
she married Benjamin F. Alexander Jr. in 1956; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, When Evelyn Alexander's children were young, she | 11 | | accepted a position as a dispatcher with the North Chicago | 12 | | Police Department; she was quickly promoted to Health | 13 | | Commissioner and Emergency Services Disaster Agency | 14 | | Coordinator by the late Mayor Leo F. Kukla; she retired as | 15 | | Chief of Staff to Mayor Bobby E. Thompson in 1997 after 27 | 16 | | years of service; soon after her retirement, she joined the | 17 | | office of her long-time friend, State Senator Terry Link; she | 18 | | served as Senator Link's Legislative Aide for 14 years before | 19 | | retiring again in 2011; at the start of her career, she was | 20 | | employed at what was then known as the Downey Veterans' | 21 | | Administration; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Evelyn Alexander volunteered with and held |
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| 1 | | leadership positions in numerous organizations; she was a past | 2 | | president of the North Chicago Rotary Club, past vice | 3 | | president of Partners in Progress, and a founding member of | 4 | | the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County; she also served as | 5 | | Chairman of the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension | 6 | | Council; she was the driving force behind the "First Tee" of | 7 | | Lake County program, which brought golf to young people in | 8 | | North Chicago and throughout the county, and was very active | 9 | | with Big Brother/Big Sisters;
her longest volunteer service | 10 | | was as a member of the College of Lake County Lakeshore Campus | 11 | | Advisory Board where she served for more than 35 years; she was | 12 | | a member of the North Chicago Housing Authority, which was one | 13 | | of her favorite appointments, and was also very active with | 14 | | Eureka Temple #1172; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Evelyn Alexander was a champion for children in | 16 | | North Chicago; while her children were in school, she often | 17 | | volunteered as a chaperone for field trips and sports events; | 18 | | she invested more than 60 years of her time to ensure that | 19 | | children in North Chicago were afforded an opportunity to | 20 | | receive an excellent education; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Evelyn Alexander is the only resident to be | 22 | | appointed and/or elected to every school board district in the | 23 | | history of the City of North Chicago; she never lost a school | 24 | | board election while serving on Grade School District 63, |
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| 1 | | Grade School Districts 64, High School District 123, and North | 2 | | Chicago Community Unit District 187; on June 19, 2012, the | 3 | | State Board of Education appointed Evelyn as a member of the | 4 | | Independent Authority for North Chicago Unit School District | 5 | | 187; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, As a result of Evelyn Alexander's commitment to | 7 | | education and her longevity as a volunteer, North Elementary | 8 | | School was renamed Evelyn Alexander Elementary School in her | 9 | | honor; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Evelyn Alexander attended First Corinthian | 11 | | Missionary Baptist church for several years before she | 12 | | officially became a member in 1968; she enjoyed supporting and | 13 | | partaking in church events, especially the grand teas | 14 | | sponsored by the Mission Ministry;
one of her proudest moments | 15 | | of service was serving on the Pastor's Search Committee; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Evelyn Alexander has received numerous awards and | 17 | | accolades throughout the years; she has been selected as an | 18 | | Outstanding School Board Member, a State of Illinois | 19 | | Outstanding ESDA Director, the First Corinthian Missionary | 20 | | Baptist Church Senior of the Year, and the U of I Mother of the | 21 | | year; she has also received several citations from federal, | 22 | | state, and local entities, including the YWCA Women of | 23 | | Achievement Award for Public Service, the Lake County Forest |
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| 1 | | Preserve "Doing Good in the Hood" award, and the People's | 2 | | Voice Lifetime Achievement Award, and was inducted into the | 3 | | City of North Chicago Hall of Fame; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Evelyn Alexander was preceded in death by her | 5 | | parents; her sisters, Juanita Wimberly, Vera Mae Spears, and | 6 | | Barbara Jean Harrison; and her niece, Evelyn Wimberly; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Evelyn Alexander is survived by her four | 8 | | children, Cynthia (Michael) Jackson, Cheryl Alexander, | 9 | | Christina (David) Jones, and Benjamin Alexander III; her eight | 10 | | grandchildren, Brittany Alexander, Benjamin Alexander IV, | 11 | | Sheraton Jones, Avery Jones, Michael (Tristy) Jackson, | 12 | | Jonathan Jackson, Trenisa Jackson, and Nicole Wimberly; her | 13 | | nine great-grandchildren; her brother, Milton Harrison; her | 14 | | sister-in-law, Hellen Russell; her cousins; her host of nieces | 15 | | and nephews; and her friends, including her special friends, | 16 | | Velma Dicker, Judy Keener, and Dora King; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 18 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 19 | | Evelyn Alexander and extend our sincere condolences to her | 20 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it | 21 | | further
| 22 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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| 1 | | presented to the family of Evelyn Alexander as an expression | 2 | | of our deepest sympathy.
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