HR0643 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0643 LRB101 16030 MST 65392 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Allison Cate Hartman of Chicago, who passed away on November 13, 2019; and

WHEREAS, Allison Hartman was born to James Lea and Frances Cohn Cate in 1931; she attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and graduated from the University of Chicago in 1951; and

WHEREAS, Allison Hartman had an immense interest in automotive mechanics and sports car racing; she built a Formula Junior-class race car with her first husband, George Clowes; her immersion into the racing community was ironic, considering her aversion to driving and that she did not have a license for the last 60 years of her life; and

WHEREAS, In 1964, Allison Hartman and her second husband, James Hartman, opened Hyde Park Auto Service, which she ran until 1996, one of the first women in Chicago to operate an automobile repair shop; she and James competed on the Sports Car Club of America circuit; and

WHEREAS, In the 1970s and 1980s, Alison Hartman shifted to motorcycle racing and participated in dirt-track competitions around the country with her partner John Millington, who survives her; and

WHEREAS, Allison Hartman was a strong advocate for self-defense, earning a Hakkoryu Jujutsu black belt in 1988; she co-founded a self-defense training program, Power for Women; she was an accomplished bench rest target rifle-shooter and won competitions well into her 80s; and

WHEREAS, After closing Hyde Park Auto Service, Allison Hartman earned a criminal justice degree from Chicago State University and two post-graduate degrees from John Marshall Law School; she was reportedly one of the oldest people in Illinois history to pass the bar in 2006 at age 75, after which she practiced elder and real estate law; she also rehabilitated and restored several South Side buildings with her son, James; and

WHEREAS, Allison Hartman was president of the board for Disabled Adult Residential Enterprises; she was a founding member of Chicago Hyde Park Village, an organization that helps its members to remain in their homes and engaged in the community as they grow older; she was president of the Older Women's League and a founder of the Coalition for Equitable Community Development; she was a long-term board member of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference; and

WHEREAS, Allison Hartman was preceded in death by her son, James Russel Clowes; and

WHEREAS, Allison Hartman is also survived by her son, Daniel Clowes; her daughter-in-law, Erika Clowes; her grandson, Charles Clowes; her brother, James L. Cate Jr.; and her students and "adopted" children, Julie Orlinsky-Morgan and Jesse Sensibar; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Allison Cate Hartman and extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Allison Hartman as an expression of our deepest sympathy.