HR1318 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1318 LRB096 22533 KXB 41834 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former State Representative Mrs. Virginia Fiester Frederick, who passed away on May 30, 2010 at the age of 93; and

WHEREAS, Virginia Fiester Frederick was born in Linden, Iowa and is survived by three children, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, After graduating from the University of Iowa and starting a family, Mrs. Frederick made a career for herself in the fashion industry, and soon became involved in public service; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Frederick became the first woman in history to be elected to the Lake Forest City Council, where she served as an alderman from 1974 until 1979; her interest in politics and her desire to serve the people blossomed during her tenure as a Lake Forest City Council member and Ms. Frederick grew inspired to serve at the State level; and

WHEREAS, In 1978, Mrs. Frederick was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives where she dedicated herself to serving the people of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Virginia Fiester Frederick worked on several pieces of legislation to fight back against the street gangs that were growing in numbers and power during the 1990s; Mrs. Frederick endeavored with several of her colleagues to pass bipartisan legislation creating the Statewide Organized Criminal Gang Database (SWORD), operated by the Illinois State Police; SWORD has been instrumental in combating the operations of organized criminal gangs in Illinois for more than a decade; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Frederick focused most of her efforts on helping the State's most vulnerable populations; she spent much of her time working on child welfare issues and, as divorce rates were skyrocketing, was instrumental in updating child support laws; she was also committed to improving nursing home safety and ensuring that the needs of Illinois's growing senior citizen population were met; and

WHEREAS, Although she retired from her position as a State Representative nearly 20 years ago, many of Virginia Fiester Frederick's legislative contributions continue to have a profound affect on the people of Illinois; in 1991, she developed the Illinois Domestic Abuse of Disabled Adults Intervention Act, which created the Domestic Abuse Project (DAP) within the Department of Human Services (DHS); DAP provides a toll-free telephone number for voluntary reporting of abuse, neglect, or illegal exploitation of disabled adults; these reports are then investigated by DHS and action is taken to protect and aid the victim; thanks to her legislation, disabled adults and their loved ones have somewhere to turn when faced with abuse; DAP receives and investigates hundreds of new cases each year; and

WHEREAS, In spite of being raised in Iowa, Mrs. Frederick held a deep-seated love for Illinois; as a legislator, she demonstrated this love by fighting for additional environmental protections and by working to preserve historical landmarks; and

WHEREAS, Virginia Fiester Frederick's tireless efforts have made Illinois a better and more hopeful place for all citizens; her family requests that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Illinois Historical Society as a way of honoring the late Virginia Fiester Frederick's passion for our beautiful State and its history; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with her family, friends, and all those whose lives have been blessed by her presence, the passing of Mrs. Virginia Fiester Frederick; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Mrs. Virginia Fiester Frederick as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.