Full Text of SR0205 101st General Assembly
SR0205 101ST 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 Colonel Jill E. Morgenthaler of Mt. | 4 | | Prospect, who passed away on February 23, 2019; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Colonel Morgenthaler came from a military family | 6 | | that often moved around the country; her father was an officer | 7 | | in the United States Marine Corps who served in Vietnam, and | 8 | | she attended seven different schools before attending college | 9 | | at Penn State; she was one of 83 female cadets to arrive for | 10 | | boot camp at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina as the inaugural class | 11 | | of women in the U.S. Army in 1975; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Colonel Morgenthaler rose through the ranks and | 13 | | eventually became the first woman battalion commander in the | 14 | | 88th Regional Support Command and later the first woman brigade | 15 | | commander in the 84th Division; in the 1980s, her military | 16 | | career took her to Germany and South Korea; in the 1990s, she | 17 | | was sent to Bosnia and Kosovo, where she earned a humanitarian | 18 | | service medal for helping to resettle Kosovar refugees; in | 19 | | 2004, she was awarded the Bronze Star after serving ten months | 20 | | in Iraq; upon retirement in 2006, she was awarded the Legion of | 21 | | Merit; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, In her civilian capacity, Colonel Morgenthaler |
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| 1 | | worked for the U.S. Department of Commerce and Software | 2 | | Publishing Corporation before moving to Illinois, where she | 3 | | worked in public affairs, community outreach, and as assistant | 4 | | division director and emergency response manager for Argonne | 5 | | National Laboratory for 14 years; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, In 2005 under then Governor Rod Blagojevich, | 7 | | Colonel Morgenthaler became the first woman to serve as | 8 | | homeland security chief for Illinois; in 2008, she ran for | 9 | | public office as the Democratic challenger for the 6th | 10 | | Congressional District, in which she won 42 percent of the | 11 | | vote; during the campaign, she discovered her voice and | 12 | | realized how her story could motivate others; she went on to | 13 | | give keynote addresses and seminars on leadership; in 2014, she | 14 | | wrote The Courage to take Command: Leadership Lessons from A | 15 | | Military Trailblazer; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Colonel Morgenthaler was also president of the | 17 | | National Speakers Association Illinois and a member of the | 18 | | National Speakers Association and Toastmasters International; | 19 | | and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Colonel Morgenthaler and her husband Kerry moved | 21 | | to Des Plaines in 1991, where they raised their two children; | 22 | | after major floods near their neighborhood in 2008 and 2012, | 23 | | the couple moved to Mount Prospect; she was a member of St. |
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| 1 | | Martin's Episcopal Church in Des Plaines, where she sang in the | 2 | | choir; she "devoted her life to helping others be all they can | 3 | | be," said U. S. Senator Tammy Duckworth; Senator Duckworth also | 4 | | stated, "she was a leader and decorated officer who knocked | 5 | | down barriers in the military and motivated a generation of | 6 | | women through her service and her inspirational speeches"; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Colonel Morgenthaler was the beloved wife of Kerry | 8 | | Chambers, the loving mother of Neal Warren Chambers and Jamie | 9 | | Joyce Chambers, the fond sister of Terry (Patrick Kerins) | 10 | | Morgenthaler, Jeffrey (Donna) Morgenthaler, and Sharon | 11 | | Morgenthaler, and the dear aunt of many nieces and nephews; | 12 | | therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 15 | | Colonel Jill E. Morgenthaler and extend our sincere condolences | 16 | | to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be | 17 | | it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | presented to the family of Colonel Morgenthaler as an | 20 | | expression of our deepest sympathy.
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