HR0682 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0682 LRB094 14849 AJO 49848 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Charlotte Newfeld of the Lake View neighborhood in Chicago has been a community activist for over 30 years; and

WHEREAS, Although Ms. Newfeld's interests and causes are diverse, all of her interests placed a value on diversity; her contributions to Lake View and Chicago include improvements in education, open spaces, neighborhood protection, and AIDS awareness; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte provided leadership to entities as they organized and began to function; for example she served as: a founding Director of Friends of the Parks; an original member of the District 3 School Council; the initial vice-chair of the Walt Disney Magnet School; and a founding Director of the Education Resource Center, which later evolved into the Children's Museum; and

WHEREAS, As the Legislative Coordinator for State Representative Arthur Telscer, she pursued her interest in education; she helped prepare House Bill 1223 and assisted in moving the bill toward passage; the bill became Public Act 78-727, which established the Transitional Bilingual Education program in the Illinois public schools; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte is an active member of the Lake View Citizens Council and she served the Council as president; and

WHEREAS, She helped organize Citizens United for Baseball in Sunshine (CUBS), which endeavored to retain Wrigley Field as the only daytime baseball park in the Major Leagues; after night baseball was introduced at Wrigley Field, she worked with the community and city officials to provide protections that were needed in the neighborhood when night baseball games were played; and

WHEREAS, Charlotte led the restoration of the Bill Jarvis Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Lincoln Park by being the steward, grant manager, and the volunteer supervisor; the Sanctuary is an internationally recognized shelter and feeding site utilized by numerous bird species while they migrate along the shores of Lake Michigan; and

WHEREAS, She has been a strenuous advocate for gays and lesbians in Chicago; her active lobbying, along with the efforts of many others, resulted in the passage of Chicago's human rights ordinance, which prohibits discrimination because of sexual orientation; she served as the vice-chair of the Chicago Commission on Women and urged the Chicago Commission on Human Relations to create what has become the Advisory Council on Gay and Lesbian Issues; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we honor Charlotte Newfeld of Chicago for being a community activist in the Lake View area and for her leadership on issues that affected all of Chicago; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Charlotte Newfeld as an expression of our esteem.