Full Text of HJR0162 99th General Assembly
HJ0162 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives and Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of | 4 | | the death of the beloved former Illinois State Representative | 5 | | and State Senator Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor, who passed | 6 | | away on September 10, 2016; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor was born on January | 8 | | 16, 1925 in Chicago; she moved with her family to Davenport, | 9 | | Iowa and to Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada, due to her father's | 10 | | parish assignments; after returning to Chicago, she attended | 11 | | Sherwood Elementary School and Englewood High School; after | 12 | | high school, she married Lawrence Taylor and had a child, Gayla | 13 | | Aniece; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, With the help of her father, Ethel Skyles | 15 | | Alexander-Taylor was able to secure a position at the Clerk's | 16 | | Office of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Criminal Division, | 17 | | Appeal Section; afterwards, she became the first woman to be | 18 | | appointed Assistant Chief Deputy Clerk of the Criminal Division | 19 | | of the Circuit Court in 1973; her tenure at the Circuit Court | 20 | | of Cook County lasted 33 years; she then furthered her | 21 | | education at Wilson and received a degree from Loop (now Harold | 22 | | Washington) College as well as enrolling in an IBM Executive | 23 | | Training Course; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor taught the first | 2 | | training school for Courtroom Minute Clerks in clerical | 3 | | procedures; she served as Ward Committeewoman of the 20th Ward | 4 | | Regular Democratic Organization for 21 years and as precinct | 5 | | Captain of the 20th Ward Regular Democratic Organization for 28 | 6 | | years; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, In 1978, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor was | 8 | | elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, where she was | 9 | | known for waving a red handkerchief in the air whenever she | 10 | | wanted to discuss an issue with fellow legislators; in 1986, | 11 | | she was appointed to replace the late Charles Chew in the State | 12 | | Senate, where she remained until her retirement in 1993; while | 13 | | in the legislature, she served as Vice-Chair of the Elections | 14 | | and Reapportionment Committee and co-sponsored a bill that | 15 | | prohibited State agencies from trading with apartheid-era | 16 | | South Africa; she was also a leading advocate for Mayor Harold | 17 | | Washington; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor served as a mentor | 19 | | to many legislators and trained them on proper decorum; she | 20 | | also focused on issues that would empower the African-American | 21 | | community, stressed the importance in working with trade | 22 | | unions, emphasized social issues, and underscored the | 23 | | necessity of economic empowerment in the African-American |
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| 1 | | community; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, As a State Representative, Ethel Skyles | 3 | | Alexander-Taylor served on the following committees during the | 4 | | 81st to 84th General Assemblies: Appropriations II, Cities & | 5 | | Villages (Vice Chair), Elections (Chair), Energy, Environment, | 6 | | and National Resources, Judiciary II, Revenue, State | 7 | | Government Administration and Regulatory Review, and Urban | 8 | | Redevelopment; as a State Senator, she served on the following | 9 | | committees during the 85th to 87th General Assemblies: Consumer | 10 | | Affairs, Elections & Reapportionment (Vice Chair and Chair), | 11 | | Energy & Environment, Judiciary, Judiciary II, Local | 12 | | Government, and Revenue; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor was a sponsor of | 14 | | many major bills that became law, including P.A. 82-627 (1981), | 15 | | which created the Domestic Violence Act; P.A. 82-453 (1981), | 16 | | which amended the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act to | 17 | | penalize making false reports of abuse or neglect and make | 18 | | other changes; P.A. 82-517 (1981), which amended the Criminal | 19 | | Code by imposing stricter penalties for juror harassment; P.A. | 20 | | 82-291 (1981), which amended the Criminal Code by imposing | 21 | | stricter penalties for witness interference; P.A. 83-144 | 22 | | (1984), which authorized the Department of Public Aid to | 23 | | authorize payments to medical providers for diagnosis and | 24 | | treatment of sickle cell anemia for people qualifying for |
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| 1 | | services under Public Aid Code Section 5-2; P.A. 83-1067 | 2 | | (1984), which amended the Criminal Code and Code of Criminal | 3 | | Procedure to repeal existing sex crimes and replace them with | 4 | | criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, | 5 | | criminal sexual abuse, and aggravated criminal sexual abuse; | 6 | | P.A. 83-495 (1983), which amended the Rape Victims Emergency | 7 | | Treatment Act by requiring hospitals to submit plans for | 8 | | providing emergency care to rape victims; P.A. 83-500 (1984), | 9 | | which amended the Rape Victims Emergency Treatment Act to | 10 | | require the City of Chicago and law enforcement to distribute | 11 | | Vitullo rape evidence kits to hospitals; P.A. 83-1406 (1984), | 12 | | which amended the Communicable Disease Act to allow reporting | 13 | | of sexually transmitted diseases in minors under the age of 11 | 14 | | in accordance with the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting | 15 | | Act; P.A. 86-1168 (1990), which expanded the crime of child | 16 | | pornography to include depiction of children in "lewd | 17 | | exhibitions" of several private bodily areas; P.A. 86-1329 | 18 | | (1990), which amended the Code of Civil Procedure to remove | 19 | | provisions that suspended the running of civil statute of | 20 | | limitations periods on prospective plaintiffs while they were | 21 | | in prison; P.A. 87-791 (1991), which imposed a $100 additional | 22 | | fine on persons convicted of a long list of crimes against the | 23 | | perpetrators' household members, with the proceeds going to the | 24 | | Domestic Violence Shelter and Service Fund; P.A. 87-933 (1992), | 25 | | which amended the Code of Civil Procedure to allow public | 26 | | housing authorities to evict a tenant for seven days based on |
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| 1 | | evidence that the rented premises are being used for selling | 2 | | illegal drugs; P.A. 84-588 (1986), which amended the Election | 3 | | Code to have all election authorities in the State prepare | 4 | | reports of votes cast in their jurisdictions and distribute | 5 | | them to local political parties; P.A. 84-197 (1986), which | 6 | | amended the Minority and Female Business Enterprise Act to | 7 | | require the Enterprise Council to act as clearinghouse for | 8 | | State contracts which minority and female-owned businesses can | 9 | | bid; P.A. 84-659 (1986), which amended the Election Code to | 10 | | require that each electronic voting booth be placed in a way | 11 | | that prevents election judges and poll watchers from observing | 12 | | casting of ballots; P.A. 84-658 (1986), which amended the | 13 | | Election Code to allow a write-in candidate to be nominated and | 14 | | elected without receiving at least as many votes as the | 15 | | required numbers of petition signatures, if the candidate | 16 | | received more votes than any other candidate; P.A. 84-966 | 17 | | (1986), which amended the Election Code to allow discovery in | 18 | | one precinct, if there are fewer than four precincts under the | 19 | | jurisdiction of the election authority and within the area | 20 | | where votes may be cast on the petition filed for discovery; | 21 | | and P.A. 86-786 (1989), which amended acts on Cook County | 22 | | courts by reducing the number of associate judges and | 23 | | increasing numbers of circuit and Appellate Court judges; and
| 24 | | WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor was President of | 25 | | the First Church of Deliverance 300 Voice Radio and T.V. Adult |
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| 1 | | Choir for over 20 years; she was also a member of Parkway | 2 | | Community House, the NAACP, and the Chicago Urban League; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor was preceded in | 4 | | death by her parents, former State Representative Charles M. | 5 | | Skyles and Mildred Skyles; her husband, Lawrence "Larry" | 6 | | "Poppy" Taylor; her siblings, Delores June Daniel, Ruby Elise | 7 | | King, and Charles M. Skyles II; and her nephew, Steven C. | 8 | | Green; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor is survived by her | 10 | | nieces and nephews, James E. (Alice) Daniel, Wayne K. King, | 11 | | Shalalia Daniel, Donna Skyles, Rae Lynn (Ernest) Durham, Ruby | 12 | | Turner, and Charles M. (Verne) Skyles III; her stepdaughter, | 13 | | Deidre (Anthony) Aleniyi, and her family, Attorney Bianca Brown | 14 | | and Jovanezer Dikeccha; her stepchildren, Lawrence Jr., | 15 | | Kiimberling, Enrico, Yolanda, Brandy, Tondelayo, and Mario; | 16 | | her in-laws, Margaret Johnson, Robert Taylor, Lillian | 17 | | (Charles) Wade, Doris Eames, Earlene (Ronnie) Leverette, Earl | 18 | | (Stephenia) Taylor, and Marion and Candice Taylor; her special | 19 | | extended family, Lucille Arden, Samuel Thornton, Connie | 20 | | Tinner, Marian Joyce Randolph, Lauretta (Sweets) Hines, | 21 | | retired United States Senator Carol Moseley Braun, and Billie | 22 | | Paige; and the members of the First Church of Deliverance; | 23 | | therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 3 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we, along with her family and | 4 | | friends, mourn the passing of former Illinois State | 5 | | Representative and State Senator Ethel Skyles | 6 | | Alexander-Taylor; and be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to the family of Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor as an | 9 | | expression of our sympathy.
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