Full Text of SR0798 95th General Assembly
SR0798 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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SR0798 |
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of
former Illinois Senator Virginia | 4 |
| Macdonald of Arlington Heights, who passed away on July 12, | 5 |
| 2008; and
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| WHEREAS, Virginia Macdonald was born in El Paso, Texas; she | 7 |
| attended the University of New Mexico, where she met her late | 8 |
| husband, Alan; the couple moved to Evanston, where she became | 9 |
| involved in a number of causes; in 1953, they moved to | 10 |
| Arlington Heights, where Mrs. Macdonald found a new calling in | 11 |
| politics, volunteering for Dwight Eisenhower's re-election | 12 |
| campaign in 1956 and Richard Nixon's presidential campaign in | 13 |
| 1960; she also worked on the campaign of Senator Charles Percy | 14 |
| and acted as Senator Everett Dirksen's State director of the | 15 |
| Women Volunteers for Everett Dirksen during his 1968 bid for | 16 |
| the U.S. Senate; and
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| WHEREAS, Virginia Macdonald had a long and distinguished | 18 |
| career in politics; she served as chairperson of the Cook | 19 |
| County Republicans; she also served as a delegate to the 1970 | 20 |
| Illinois Constitutional Convention, where she was the only | 21 |
| woman to be a member of the Bill of Rights Committee, which | 22 |
| created the State's Equal Rights provision; and
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| WHEREAS, Virginia Macdonald served with pride and | 2 |
| distinction as a member of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives from 1972 to 1982; she then moved on to the | 4 |
| Illinois Senate, serving from 1982 until 1992; a political | 5 |
| pioneer in her own right, she was one of just eight women in | 6 |
| the then 177-member House and one of 11 women in the 236-member | 7 |
| General Assembly in 1973; and
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| WHEREAS, Virginia Macdonald achieved many accomplishments | 9 |
| during her tenure in the Illinois General Assembly, including | 10 |
| laws that require hospitals to safely dispose of | 11 |
| non-radioactive medical waste and laws for reimbursement for | 12 |
| reconstructive breast surgery; in addition, she sponsored | 13 |
| bills to bring Lake Michigan water to the Northwest suburbs, | 14 |
| decentralize the State's juvenile court system, broaden the | 15 |
| State's rape law to include the charge of sexual assault, and | 16 |
| create property tax caps for suburban Cook County; she proved | 17 |
| to be a popular legislator, achieving high plurality victories | 18 |
| during each of her re-election campaigns; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, Despite her busy career in State politics, | 20 |
| Virginia Macdonald always found time to be a dedicated and | 21 |
| supportive mother and wife, involving herself with the Girl | 22 |
| Scouts, helping to found the St. Simon Episcopal Church in | 23 |
| Arlington Heights, cleaning her own house until her latter | 24 |
| years, and hosting dinner parties that would include such |
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| guests as Donald Rumsfeld; and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, Virginia Macdonald is survived by her daughter, | 3 |
| Susan (John) Van Bramer; her son, Alan H. Macdonald Jr.; and | 4 |
| her grandchildren, Rebecca, Diana, Michael, and Joseph Van | 5 |
| Bramer and Michelle (Christopher) Smudde; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, Virginia Macdonald will be remembered fondly by | 7 |
| all who knew and loved her as a loving, feminine, and nurturing | 8 |
| mother and as a talented administrator and public servant who | 9 |
| believed in good and honest government; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 11 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 12 |
| her family and friends, the passing of our former colleague, | 13 |
| Virginia Macdonald; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 |
| presented to the family of Virginia Macdonald as an expression | 16 |
| of our sympathy.
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