Full Text of SR0231 101st General Assembly
SR0231 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 Helen Miller, who passed away on March 5, | 4 | | 2019; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Helen Miller was born in Louisville, Mississippi | 6 | | on May 26, 1936; she graduated from Central Colored High School | 7 | | in Louisville (now Central High School) in 1955 and moved to | 8 | | Chicago; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Helen Miller began working in industrial | 10 | | laundries and worked in laundries for over 15 years; in the | 11 | | late 70s, she began working as a homecare provider for the City | 12 | | of Chicago and State of Illinois' Department of Rehabilitation | 13 | | Services; she later worked for private agencies caring for | 14 | | seniors under the State's Community Care Program; she retired | 15 | | in 2007; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, In 1984, Helen Miller became active with the | 17 | | then-fledgling Local 880 of the United Labor Unions; she served | 18 | | in every capacity, including as a rank-and-file member, a | 19 | | member-organizer, a steward, a political organizer, and then as | 20 | | an officer; she became treasurer in 1986, vice-president in | 21 | | 1989, and president in 1999, serving until her retirement in | 22 | | 2007; she retired as the longest serving president in the |
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| 1 | | history of Local 880; in addition, she was elected to the SEIU | 2 | | Illinois Council in 1999 and as sergeant-at-arms in 2003; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Helen Miller was continuously involved in the | 4 | | fight for higher wages for homecare workers and childcare | 5 | | providers; she also took part in the fight against predatory | 6 | | lending, utility shutoffs, and for a living wage in Chicago and | 7 | | statewide; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Helen Miller was elected to the SEIU International | 9 | | Executive Board at its convention in 2004, the first homecare | 10 | | worker to serve on the SEIU International Executive Board; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Helen Miller was also active politically; she | 12 | | frequently knocked on doors to get out the vote, oversaw phone | 13 | | banks, and interviewed candidates for office; in 1995, she led | 14 | | Local 880's endorsement for Barack Obama when he first | 15 | | announced his intent to run for State Senate; she worked on | 16 | | several of his State Senate and Congressional campaigns, as | 17 | | well as his run for U.S. Senate in 2004; on the date of her | 18 | | retirement in 2007, then-Senator Obama sent her a | 19 | | congratulatory letter noting how honored he was to have worked | 20 | | with her and how her work improved the lives of thousands; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Helen Miller was the 2004 recipient of the Ms. | 22 | | Foundation's GLORIA award and a 2005 recipient of the Women's |
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| 1 | | E-News award for her leadership in ensuring that homecare | 2 | | workers are "invisible no more"; she received the Operation | 3 | | PUSH Bridge Builder Award presented by Rev. Jesse Jackson at | 4 | | the PUSH convention in June 2005; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Helen Miller served in her church in Chicago and | 6 | | the Bethany Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Mississippi; | 7 | | and | 8 | | WHEREAS, In 2003, Helen Miller and her co-workers signed | 9 | | their first collective bargaining agreement with the State of | 10 | | Illinois; she led busloads of members into the Capitol Building | 11 | | and up to the Governor's office singing one of her favorite | 12 | | songs, Victory Is Mine; her Local had its greatest period of | 13 | | growth during her presidency, growing from seven members to | 14 | | 70,000; she campaigned vigorously for higher pay and health | 15 | | care and benefits for many groups in Chicago, in Illinois, | 16 | | across the Midwest, the East and West Coasts and in the South; | 17 | | therefore, be it
| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 19 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 20 | | Helen Miller and extend our sincere condolences to her family, | 21 | | friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further
| 22 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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| 1 | | presented to the family of Helen Miller as an expression of our | 2 | | deepest sympathy.
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