| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to recognize the late Leticia "Letty" | ||||||
| 4 | Lozano for the impact her advocacy made on the vocation of | ||||||
| 5 | Paraprofessionals and School-Related Personnel (PSRPs) in the | ||||||
| 6 | State of Illinois; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Leticia Lozano was an employee of Chicago Public | ||||||
| 8 | Schools (CPS), working at Thomas Kelly College Preparatory | ||||||
| 9 | High School for the majority of her career before joining the | ||||||
| 10 | staff of Charles A. Prosser Career Academy as the attendance | ||||||
| 11 | clerk; during her tenure, she was noted by colleagues for her | ||||||
| 12 | dedication and devotion to the students, families, staff, and | ||||||
| 13 | community; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, Leticia Lozano wished to become a substitute | ||||||
| 15 | teacher at Prosser Career Academy in retirement; however, as | ||||||
| 16 | an attendance clerk, she was prohibited from doing so by State | ||||||
| 17 | law that governs the Municipal Employees' Annuity and Benefit | ||||||
| 18 | Fund of Chicago, from which CPS paraprofessionals draw their | ||||||
| 19 | pensions; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Through the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), Leticia | ||||||
| 21 | Lozano championed changing the law, and the union, in turn, | ||||||
| 22 | worked with members of the General Assembly; and | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | WHEREAS, The change Leticia Lozano sought was eventually | ||||||
| 2 | introduced as Illinois Senate Bill 1646 in the 103rd General | ||||||
| 3 | Assembly in 2023; and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, SB 1646 allowed PSRPs, such as Leticia Lozano, to | ||||||
| 5 | become substitute teachers after retirement without penalty to | ||||||
| 6 | their pension, and the bill was signed into law under Public | ||||||
| 7 | Act 103-0552, effective August 11, 2023; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, Unfortunately, Leticia Lozano never got the | ||||||
| 9 | chance to retire or to benefit from the law change and pursue | ||||||
| 10 | substitute teaching, passing away due to complications from | ||||||
| 11 | COVID-19 in December 2020; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Leticia Lozano was a wife and the mother of | ||||||
| 13 | Josie, Carlos, Elvia, Luis, Alex, Gizelle, and Andrew; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, While she never benefited from the rights | ||||||
| 15 | bestowed by the passage of SB 1646, Leticia Lozano's advocacy | ||||||
| 16 | continues to be remembered today, serving as a reminder of the | ||||||
| 17 | positive impact one person's efforts can have on society as a | ||||||
| 18 | whole; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 19 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 20 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | we recognize the late Leticia "Letty" Lozano on the impact her | ||||||
| 2 | advocacy made on the vocation of Paraprofessionals and | ||||||
| 3 | School-Related Personnel (PSRPs) in the State of Illinois and | ||||||
| 4 | her dedication to Chicago Public Schools (CPS); and be it | ||||||
| 5 | further | ||||||
| 6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 7 | presented to the family of Leticia Lozano as an expression of | ||||||
| 8 | our esteem and respect. | ||||||