Full Text of HR1515 99th General Assembly
HR1515 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Deborah | 4 | | M. Sawyer, who passed away on August 7, 2016 at the age of 60; | 5 | | and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Deborah Sawyer was the founder, President, and CEO | 7 | | of Chicago-based Environmental Design International (EDI); for | 8 | | over 25 years, she inspired countless women and minority | 9 | | business owners; she broke the glass ceiling for black women in | 10 | | the engineering and environmental fields of science; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Deborah Sawyer earned a Bachelor of Arts in | 12 | | political science from Emory University and a Master of Science | 13 | | in petroleum microbiology from Eastern New Mexico University; | 14 | | and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Under the leadership of Deborah Sawyer, EDI grew | 16 | | to over 70 employees and continues to provide engineering and | 17 | | environmental consulting services to governmental agencies and | 18 | | Fortune 500 companies, and is a certified Woman and | 19 | | Minority-Owned Business Enterprise; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, In 2012, Deborah Sawyer was one of five | 21 | | entrepreneurs who received the Green Award from Chicago |
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| 1 | | Magazine after demonstrating that good business sense and | 2 | | protecting the environment are not mutually exclusive; she was | 3 | | also central in securing EDI's role as Engineer of Record for | 4 | | Exelon City Solar, the largest urban solar power plant in the | 5 | | United States; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Deborah Sawyer and EDI won and finished a prime | 7 | | contract as part of the Illinois Department of Transportation's | 8 | | more than $900 million reconstruction project to rebuild and | 9 | | widen the local and express lanes on the I-90/94 Dan Ryan | 10 | | Expressway in Chicago; EDI provided construction engineering | 11 | | and inspection services for the improvements of 5.1 miles of | 12 | | I-90/94 northbound local and express lanes from 71st Street to | 13 | | 31st Street; the construction costs for this segment were more | 14 | | than $100 million and it was one of the first major African | 15 | | American-only prime engineering contracts for a highway | 16 | | project in the United States; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Deborah Sawyer and EDI received many local, State, | 18 | | and national awards, including the Illinois Black Chamber of | 19 | | Commerce Outstanding Business of the Year Award in 2013, the | 20 | | U.S. Small Business Association Minority Small Business of the | 21 | | Year Award, the State Farm Phenomenal Woman Award, the Chicago | 22 | | Women of Achievement Award, the ACEC-IIlinois Engineers | 23 | | Community Service Award, and the Women's Business Enterprise | 24 | | National Council Woman-Owned Business Star Award; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Deborah Sawyer showed unwavering commitment to | 2 | | service in Chicago; she served on many charitable boards and | 3 | | dedicated her free time to the students at the Young Women's | 4 | | Leadership Charter School of Chicago, encouraging them to | 5 | | pursue studies in science and engineering; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Deborah Sawyer was a friend and neighbor of | 7 | | President Barack Obama in the Kenwood-Hyde Park neighborhood; | 8 | | she maintained a longtime and close relationship with the | 9 | | President; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Deborah Sawyer is survived by her mother, Betty P. | 11 | | Sawyer; her sister, Leslie J. Sawyer (Rick Redmon); her | 12 | | brother, Dr. William Gregory Sawyer (Dr. Rita Gloria Sawyer); | 13 | | and her beloved pets; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 15 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 16 | | express our sorrow at the death of Deborah M. Sawyer and join | 17 | | her family and community in mourning the loss of this great | 18 | | trailblazer of women in engineering,; and be it further
| 19 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 20 | | presented to the family of Deborah Sawyer as an expression of | 21 | | our sympathy.
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