Full Text of SR0759 095th General Assembly
SR0759 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
SR0759 |
|
LRB095 21726 GRL 51937 r |
|
| 1 |
| SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of
Mercedes Laing; and
| 4 |
| WHEREAS, Mercedes Laing was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1956 | 5 |
| and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona; and
| 6 |
| WHEREAS, Mercedes Laing graduated from Harvard-Radcliffe | 7 |
| College in 1977 and took a job thereafter with Proctor and | 8 |
| Gamble; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, Mercedes Laing received her degree from Yale Law | 10 |
| School and was the articles editor of the Yale Law Review; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, Mercedes Laing worked as a clerk for Judge Amalya | 12 |
| Kearse on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; Ms. | 13 |
| Laing later went on to work at the Holland & Knight law firm, | 14 |
| where she was a partner; and
| 15 |
| WHEREAS, Mercedes Laing formally headed the African Trade | 16 |
| Institute and worked on several Democratic political campaigns | 17 |
| as a fundraiser and community organizer; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, Mercedes Laing worked as an urban issues director | 19 |
| for the late Paul Simon; Ms. Laing was responsible for |
|
|
|
SR0759 |
- 2 - |
LRB095 21726 GRL 51937 r |
|
| 1 |
| monitoring urban education and school reform and identifying | 2 |
| ways that the federal government could help local schools; and
| 3 |
| WHEREAS, Mercedes Laing served as a Chicago Community Trust | 4 |
| board member from 1996 until 2006; Ms. Laing acted as the | 5 |
| board's vice chairman and headed the education committee and | 6 |
| management and compensation committee during her 10-year | 7 |
| tenure; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, Mercedes Laing took special pride in the creation | 9 |
| of the Chicago Community Trust's African-American Legacy | 10 |
| Initiative, which supported emerging organizations in the | 11 |
| black community; and
| 12 |
| WHEREAS, Mercedes Laing became the director of external | 13 |
| affairs for Chicago Public Schools in 2006; Ms. Laing took this | 14 |
| job a few months before her cancer diagnosis, yet continued to | 15 |
| work until recently; and
| 16 |
| WHEREAS, Mercedes Laing, at the young age of 52, lost her | 17 |
| battle with cancer on Tuesday, June 17, 2008; Ms. Laing is | 18 |
| survived by her sister; therefore, be it
| 19 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 20 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 21 |
| her family and friends, the passing of Mercedes Laing; and be |
|
|
|
SR0759 |
- 3 - |
LRB095 21726 GRL 51937 r |
|
| 1 |
| it further
| 2 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 3 |
| presented to the family of Mercedes Laing as an expression of | 4 |
| our sympathy.
|
|