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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, It is appropriate and right to honor those great
3American figures who have served our nation; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama was born in 1964
5in Chicago to Fraser Robinson III and Marian Shields Robinson;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, Michelle Obama attended the Whitney M. Young
8Magnet High School, the city's first magnet high school for
9gifted children, where, among other activities, she served as
10student government treasurer; in 1981, she graduated as class
11salutatorian; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Following in her older brother Craig's footsteps,
13Michelle Obama attended Princeton University, graduating cum
14laude in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Michelle Obama went on to earn her Juris Doctor
16from Harvard Law School in 1988; at Harvard, she participated
17in demonstrations advocating the hiring of professors who were
18members of minorities and worked for the Harvard Legal Aid
19Bureau, assisting low-income tenants with housing cases; and
 
20    WHEREAS, After graduating from Harvard Law School,

 

 

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1Michelle Obama joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin,
2where she later met Barack Obama, a summer intern to whom she
3was assigned as an adviser; and
 
4    WHEREAS, In 1991, Michelle Obama decided to leave corporate
5law and pursue a career in public service, working with people
6to serve their communities and their neighbors; she served as
7Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development in
8Chicago's City Hall before becoming the founding executive
9director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps
10program that helps young adults develop skills for careers in
11public service; and
 
12    WHEREAS, In 1996, Michelle Obama joined the University of
13Chicago with a vision of bringing the campus and community
14together; as Associate Dean of Student Services, she developed
15the university's first community service program; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Beginning in 2002, under Michelle Obama's
17leadership as Executive Director for Community Affairs for the
18University of Chicago Medical Center, volunteerism
19skyrocketed; and
 
20    WHEREAS, In May of 2005, Michelle Obama was appointed Vice
21President for Community and External Affairs at the University
22of Chicago Medical Center, where she continued to work

 

 

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1part-time until shortly before her husband's inauguration as
2president; and
 
3    WHEREAS, As first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama
4focused her attention on issues such as the support of military
5families, helping children lead healthier lives, and
6encouraging national service; and
 
7    WHEREAS, In 2010, Michelle Obama launched Let's Move!, a
8nationwide effort to address the challenge of childhood
9obesity; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden worked together
11to launch Joining Forces, a nationwide initiative calling all
12Americans to rally around service members, veterans, and their
13families and support them through wellness, education, and
14employment opportunities; and
 
15    WHEREAS, 2014, Michelle Obama launched the Reach Higher
16Initiative, an effort to inspire young people across America to
17take charge of their future by completing their education past
18high school; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
20ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
21CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the former Dan Ryan

 

 

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1Expressway including Interstate 90 and Interstate 94 from I-290
2to the split of I-57 and I-94 (Bishop Ford) as the "Michelle
3Obama Expressway"; and be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation
5is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with
6State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs
7giving notice of the name "Michelle Obama Expressway"; and be
8it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
10distributed to the Secretary of the Department of
11Transportation and to former First Lady Michelle Obama.