Full Text of HR0690 103rd General Assembly
HR0690 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | HR0690 | | LRB103 40225 MST 72145 r |
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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 Cook | 4 | | County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, a trailblazing Maywood Democrat | 5 | | who served in public office for more than two decades; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough was born on August 22, 1950; she | 7 | | was a native of Washington D.C. but established herself as a | 8 | | third generation entrepreneur in Cook County; she earned a | 9 | | degree in business administration from Chicago State | 10 | | University and a master's degree in Inner City Studies at | 11 | | Northeastern Illinois University and completed a senior | 12 | | executive government program at Harvard's Kennedy School of | 13 | | Government; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough made significant contributions | 15 | | after entering her family's tradition of work in the real | 16 | | estate, appraisal, and insurance industry, especially as a | 17 | | woman in a then male-dominated profession; she was the founder | 18 | | and longtime chief executive officer of Hathaway Insurance and | 19 | | was driven to succeed despite those who looked over her | 20 | | shoulder to see if the man who ran the business was around; she | 21 | | often shared this anecdote to inspire young women to persevere | 22 | | through adversity; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough was sworn in as a state | 2 | | representative in 2001 and served for a time as assistant | 3 | | majority leader; she earned a reputation as a hardworking | 4 | | leader unafraid to fight for what she believed was right; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough was elected Cook County Recorder | 6 | | of Deeds in 2012 and Clerk in 2018; she was the first Black | 7 | | person and first woman to serve as Cook County Clerk; when the | 8 | | recorder's office was eliminated, she assumed all duties of | 9 | | that office as county clerk in 2020; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough believed that Illinois would be a | 11 | | better place if it ended the death penalty, taking up an effort | 12 | | that had made little progress in 30 years; she worked | 13 | | tirelessly to help others find the courage to stand for true | 14 | | justice and made Illinois the 16th state to repeal capital | 15 | | punishment, earning her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and an | 16 | | audience with Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough believed than many of society's | 18 | | problems stem from poverty, and she focused much of her effort | 19 | | on eliminating it; she passed legislation creating the | 20 | | Commission on the Elimination of Poverty in 2008, and as a | 21 | | long-time member of the commission, she led its efforts to | 22 | | expand access to affordable housing, adequate food and | 23 | | nutrition, quality health care, equal access to education, |
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| 1 | | dependable transportation, enriching child care for all, | 2 | | opportunities to earn a living wage, and availability of | 3 | | adequate income supports; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough recognized that predatory | 5 | | mortgage lending practices had a deleterious effect on | 6 | | communities, especially communities of color, and fought to | 7 | | crack down on state-chartered banks and establish a program to | 8 | | track lending and offer mortgage counseling to potential | 9 | | buyers at risk; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough helped usher in the first major | 11 | | statewide capital construction program in Illinois in a decade | 12 | | to repair the state's crumbling roads, bridges, and schools | 13 | | and create jobs; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough led the passage of the Smoke Free | 15 | | Illinois Act, one of her proudest achievements, which | 16 | | eliminated indoor smoking in bars, restaurants, and other | 17 | | public places, protecting countless workers, customers, and | 18 | | medically vulnerable individuals from the effects of | 19 | | secondhand smoke; while at the time some believed the effort | 20 | | could not be done, she fought for what was right and made | 21 | | Illinois a leader in the effort to eliminate indoor smoking; | 22 | | her policy is now law in the majority of the country; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough was active in Democratic Party | 2 | | politics, working for both the Cook County Democratic Party | 3 | | and the Democratic Party of Illinois; she was a Democratic | 4 | | committeeperson representing west suburban Proviso Township | 5 | | for the Cook County party, where she was also the treasurer; | 6 | | she was a member of the state central committee for the | 7 | | Illinois party; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough received numerous awards | 9 | | recognizing her efforts to promote social justice, public | 10 | | health, fair housing, anti-violence, volunteerism and women's | 11 | | rights, and she proudly mentored young people who sought to | 12 | | become more involved in their communities; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough enjoyed spending time with her | 14 | | family and was especially proud of her children and | 15 | | grandchildren; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough was a dedicated public servant | 17 | | who was always encouraging and paved the way for many; she was | 18 | | a wonderful human being and was loved by many; therefore, be it | 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 20 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 21 | | we mourn the death of Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, a | 22 | | trailblazing Maywood Democrat who served in public office for |
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| 1 | | more than two decades; and be it further | 2 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 3 | | presented to the family of Karen Yarbrough as an expression of | 4 | | our deepest sympathy. |
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