HR0545 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0545 LRB094 12630 CSA 47455 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, June 3, 2005, will be Sister Connie Probst's last day at the Illinois Hunger Coalition of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Sister Connie will be leaving Illinois to become part of the leadership team of her order of Roman Catholic religious sisters in St. Louis Missouri; and

WHEREAS, A farewell party will be held on June 3, 2005, to wish her the best in her new and exciting move into leadership of her community of sisters; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Hunger Coalition (IHC) is a statewide membership organization that works to alleviate hunger through education, networking, advocacy, and empowerment activities; projects are designed and resources are pursued to achieve progress towards the implementation of the mission; and

WHEREAS, For six years, Sister Connie has served as the Community Organizer for IHC during which time she worked closely with Representative Susana Mendoza and other members of the General Assembly for passage of the Childhood Hunger Relief Act resulting in a mandate for close to 400 schools to offer school breakfast to low-income children in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Her tireless advocacy and efforts to include hungry people, immigrants, and residents of low-income communities to get involved in their communities and to work for public policy that promotes social justice for all people has greatly enhanced the well-being of the people of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Under Sister Connie's leadership, the IHC founded "Latino's Organized for Justice (LOJ)" in Kankakee, West Chicago, Joliet, Chicago Back of the Yards, and N.W. suburban Cook; LOJ has worked for justice for immigrants in the workplace and has provided immigrant leadership for the struggle for driver's licenses for all immigrants; and

WHEREAS, As part of the Grassroots Collaborative, LOJ organized one-third of the 10,000 participants who rallied for amnesty for immigrants in Chicago in September of 2000; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the selfless efforts of Sister Connie Probst and extend our heartfelt thanks for her tireless advocacy on behalf of those in need; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Sister Connie Probst as an expression of our utmost admiration and esteem.