Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0865
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Full Text of HR0865  103rd General Assembly

HR0865 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 


 
HR0865LRB103 41561 LAW 74780 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Susan
4"Sue" Duncan of Chicago, who passed away on July 9, 2024; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Sue Duncan was born to Betsey and William Morton
6in Winchester, Massachusetts on December 31, 1934; she
7received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Smith College in
81955 and a Master of Arts in English from University of
9Wisconsin in 1957; she became a resident of Hyde Park in
10Chicago in 1959; she married Starkey Duncan Jr., Ph.D., and
11they had three children, later divorcing in 1995 after 35
12years of marriage; and
 
13    WHEREAS, For over 50 years, Sue Duncan served as an
14educator and mother figure to thousands of children from some
15of the poorest neighborhoods on Chicago's South Side; she
16initially taught high school English in Cleveland for two
17years and at City Colleges of Chicago for one year; after
18witnessing the inequities in education faced by many Black
19children in Chicago, she opened the Sue Duncan Children's
20Center at a church in the Kenwood neighborhood in 1961; over
21the years, she moved the after-school program between several
22church basements before eventually settling into three
23classrooms at Jackie Robinson Elementary School in 2003,

 

 

HR0865- 2 -LRB103 41561 LAW 74780 r

1expanding her program to include six teachers, four
2assistants, 12 work-study students, and a cadre of volunteers
3and the establishment of a board of directors; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Sue Duncan donated her time and personal
5resources while operating the Sue Duncan Children's Center;
6she enriched her students' lives through tutoring, fulfilled
7their basic needs through supplying clothing and food when
8needed, and ensured they had better educational opportunities
9through arranging scholarships; in the process, she instilled
10the values of consistency and hard work in her students, with
11many becoming positive influences on society as engineers,
12doctors, lawyers, educators, philanthropists, police officers,
13firefighters, servicemen and women, athletes, actors,
14musicians, community leaders, and business owners; she
15continued to actively serve the center until her retirement in
162011; post-retirement, and despite memory loss, she could
17still be found assisting the program in various ways,
18including passing out gifts to children during the holidays
19and attending the center's annual Fall Fete fundraiser; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Sue Duncan was the recipient of a number of
21accolades, including receiving a UNICEF Humanitarian Award and
22being the focus of Remember Me Sue, a 2014 documentary
23exploring her life and work; and
 

 

 

HR0865- 3 -LRB103 41561 LAW 74780 r

1    WHEREAS, Sue Duncan was an extraordinary, modest, and
2courageous individual whose impact on education in Chicago and
3the lives of her former students will reverberate for
4generations; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Sue Duncan is survived by her children, former
6U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Sarah Duncan, and
7Owen Duncan, and nine grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
8    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
9HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
10we mourn the passing of Susan "Sue" Duncan and extend our
11sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew
12and loved her; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14presented to the family of Sue Duncan as an expression of our
15deepest sympathy.