Full Text of SR0431 102nd General Assembly
SR0431 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 Lawrence J. "Larry" Biondi, who passed | 4 | | away on June 28, 2021; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Larry Biondi was born on February 17, 1963; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Larry Biondi worked as the advocacy manager of | 7 | | the Progress Center for Independent Living for 28 years, where | 8 | | he led the center's community organizers and organized and | 9 | | implemented strategies to improve housing, transportation, | 10 | | public access, and health care for the disability community; | 11 | | he was well known for his legislative training course, which | 12 | | he and his team offered twice a year, held once a week over the | 13 | | course of ten weeks, and culminated in a trip to Springfield, | 14 | | where students met with State politicians and their staffs and | 15 | | applied the skills they learned during the course; he was the | 16 | | center's longest serving employee; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, As a person with a disability, Larry Biondi hired | 18 | | and managed his own personal assistants, who gave him the | 19 | | ability to focus on his job; he knew the essential link between | 20 | | accommodations, independence, and inclusion for people with | 21 | | disabilities; without personal assistants, he would not have | 22 | | been able to live on his own and, understanding that link, he |
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| 1 | | never stopped fighting to strengthen and build systems of | 2 | | community services so that all people with disabilities had | 3 | | the opportunity to access services and live independently; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Larry Biondi also dedicated his time to Chicago | 5 | | ADAPT, a grass roots disability advocacy organization, and | 6 | | National ADAPT; he attended hundreds of local and national | 7 | | ADAPT demonstrations; he also participated in civil | 8 | | disobedience when local, regional, and national entities | 9 | | failed to recognize the needs and rights of people with | 10 | | disabilities; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, At the front end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Larry | 12 | | Biondi actively engaged in and remained committed to two new | 13 | | coalitions throughout the pandemic; as a member of the PPE for | 14 | | People with Disabilities Coalition, he joined the effort to | 15 | | ensure that people with disabilities in Chicagoland and their | 16 | | personal assistants had access to personal protective | 17 | | equipment; with the Institutional Rescue and Recovery | 18 | | Coalition, he also advocated for residents of long-term | 19 | | facilities, who suffered an alarming mortality rate during the | 20 | | Covid-19 crisis; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Larry Biondi was a proud advocate for social | 22 | | justice, especially for those persons with disabilities, and | 23 | | he tirelessly fought for disability rights for 28 years; he |
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| 1 | | rarely turned down an opportunity to speak to a group of | 2 | | students, join a coalition, or attend a meeting, so long as he | 3 | | had a chance to raise awareness about disability, learn more | 4 | | about issues, and empower other people with disabilities; his | 5 | | leadership and legacy will be remembered by his colleagues at | 6 | | the Progress Center for Independent Living and ADAPT; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Larry Biondi was the son of the late Beatrice | 8 | | (Zimmerman) and Roy Biondi; the nephew of Anna Marie Pierotti | 9 | | and Fr. Lawrence Biondi, S.J.; the cousin of Anita Kidd, Maria | 10 | | Pierotti, and Peter Pierotti; and the cousin of Atina, Peter, | 11 | | Nicholas, Matteo, Giana, Luca, and many other Zimmerman | 12 | | cousins; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 15 | | Lawrence J. "Larry" Biondi and extend our sincere condolences | 16 | | to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be | 17 | | it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | presented to the family of Larry Biondi as an expression of our | 20 | | deepest sympathy.
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