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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Elizabeth "Betty" Balanoff Ph.D., who
4passed away on May 28, 2019 at the age of 92; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff was born in Salisbury, Missouri to
6Adelaide and Harold Brummall on July 8, 1926; she studied
7biology at the University of Missouri before moving to Chicago
8to further pursue her studies; she married James Balanoff Jr.
9in 1947; she earned her master's in history from Roosevelt
10University in Chicago in 1964; she earned her Ph.D. in history
11from the University of Chicago in 1974; she lived in Gary and
12Hammond, Indiana for most of her adult life; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff began a long career at Roosevelt
14University in 1966, starting as an adjunct instructor before
15moving to a full-time position as an assistant professor; she
16participated in a faculty exchange, lecturing at trade union
17colleges in Moscow and Leningrad, Russia in 1976; she was
18promoted to full professor in 1981; for 25 years, she taught
19American history to generations of students; she was a pioneer
20in the teaching of African American history, Native American
21history, women's history, immigration history, and labor
22history; she also taught the first courses at Roosevelt
23University in the history of childhood and the family; her

 

 

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1class in labor history was the first open to undergraduates at
2a Chicago university; she retired in 1991 and was named
3professor emeritus in 1993; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff's lasting legacy to Roosevelt
5University centered around the Labor Oral History Project,
6which she directed from 1970 to 1985; she conducted and
7transcribed interviews with over 70 labor union leaders and
8rank-and-file members in the Chicago area; her project has
9become a valuable resource that is among the most requested
10items in the Roosevelt University archives; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff was a social and environmental
12activist throughout her life; she successfully assisted
13Richard Hatcher's mayoral campaign in Gary, Indiana in 1968,
14making him the first elected black mayor of a major U.S. city;
15she co-founded the Coalition for a Clean Environment in
16Northwest Indiana; she was a leader of the Northwest Indiana
17Residents for Clean Air; she also served on the Hammond Public
18Library Board for seven years; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff received a number of accolades; she
20had a teaching award named in her honor by Roosevelt University
21in 1991, which recognizes a distinguished professor each year;
22her efforts towards the Labor Oral History Project were
23recognized by the Working Women's History Project in 1997 and

 

 

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1by the Illinois Labor History Society; she was honored for her
2advocacy by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the
3Environmental Protection Agency in 2007; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff was known as a kind, generous, and
5accomplished teacher; she will be remembered as someone who
6never lost her heart or patience and remained steadfast in her
7convictions; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff's expertise and passion for the
9organized labor movement was shared by her family; her husband
10James was the president of the largest United Steelworkers
11local in the country, which was Local 1010 based in East
12Chicago, Indiana; their son Tom is the president of Service
13Employees International Union Illinois Council and the vice
14president of its International Executive Board, as well as the
15president of SEIU Local 1, which represents 50,000 property
16service workers in Chicago and 10 other cities across the
17Midwest; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff was preceded in death by her
19husband of 53 years, James Balanoff Jr.; her parents; and her
20sister, Helen Donner; and
 
21    WHEREAS, At the time of her death, Betty Balanoff was
22survived by her four children, James (Rebecca) Balanoff III,

 

 

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1Thomas (Hetty) Balanoff, Joseph (Betty) Balanoff, and
2Katherine (James) Robinson; her seven grandchildren; her nine
3great-grandchildren; and her numerous nieces and nephews;
4therefore, be it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
6ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
7Elizabeth "Betty" Balanoff Ph.D. and extend our sincere
8condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved
9her; and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11presented to the family of Betty Balanoff as an expression of
12our deepest sympathy.