Full Text of HR0431 100th General Assembly
HR0431 100TH 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 passing of
William | 4 | | "Bill" Drew of Waukegan, who passed away on May 14, 2017 at the | 5 | | age of 69; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, William Drew contributed an enormous amount to his | 7 | | community of McKinley Park and the
greater southwest side of | 8 | | Chicago, where he lived, loved, organized, and nurtured the | 9 | | community for the
past 38 years; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, William Drew has touched the lives of hundreds of | 11 | | individuals throughout his longstanding fight
for justice and | 12 | | social change; during his college days, he was involved in the | 13 | | anti-war movement at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison; in | 14 | | 1972, he moved to Milwaukee where he became the editor of the
| 15 | | Milwaukee Worker, where he organized and wrote stories about | 16 | | the struggles of the factory
workers and minorities in the | 17 | | Cream City; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, William Drew moved to Chicago in 1979 where he | 19 | | taught English as a second language to
Mexican immigrants at | 20 | | Robert Fulton Elementary in the Back of the Yards, and where he | 21 | | also worked as
an intake counselor for dislocated factory | 22 | | workers of the stockyards; it was in this neighborhood that
he |
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| 1 | | met his beautiful wife, Gloria, whom he described as | 2 | | "incredibly strong, hard-working, and disciplined
and the best | 3 | | thing that ever happened to me"; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, William Drew was a tireless activist and leader, | 5 | | always pushing ahead with ways to make a
positive difference in | 6 | | people's lives; he had multiple talents; he was a computer | 7 | | programmer and a
tenacious and thoughtful organizer; during his | 8 | | later years, he worked furiously to create a space where
| 9 | | McKinley Park residents could come together and use their | 10 | | collective power to improve their
community and to fight for | 11 | | the rights of working families; this effort, which he named the | 12 | | McKinley Park
Progressive Alliance, later morphed into the | 13 | | creation of the 12th Ward Independent Political Organization
- | 14 | | which has propelled community engagement and served as an | 15 | | epitome for civic engagement in other
wards of the southwest | 16 | | side of Chicago; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, One of William Drew's greatest talent was his | 18 | | ability to find ways to collaborate and build
relationships | 19 | | with people far and wide; there are few people who have had | 20 | | such a profound impact in the
political empowerment of working | 21 | | and immigrant communities in the southwest side of Chicago; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, William Drew's spirit and legacy live on in the | 23 | | hearts of the
hundreds of people whose lives he touched; he is |
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| 1 | | survived by his wife, Gloria, and his two sons, Richard
(Ricky) | 2 | | and William D. "Billy" Drew Jr. - whom he often referred to as | 3 | | his "biggest pride and joy"; and his siblings, Nora Renzulli, | 4 | | Jane Waller, and John Drew; therefore, be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 6 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 7 | | mourn the passing of William "Bill" Drew, and extend our most | 8 | | sincere
condolences to this family, friends, and all who knew | 9 | | and loved him; and be it further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 11 | | presented to the family of William Drew as an
expression of our | 12 | | deepest sympathy.
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