HR1594 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1594 LRB096 24793 KXB 44927 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The blond and statuesque Sybille Fritzsche, our own Nordic goddess, was an iconic role model for Lab School mothers during the years she graced our neighborhood; and

WHEREAS, Sybille's decision to go to law school as an adult while her children were young served as a different and possibly even finer role model for Hyde Park mothers; and

WHEREAS, At the University of Chicago Law School she was one of my husband's favorite students; and

WHEREAS, Sybille's work for the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, from the late 1960s through 1974 broke ground in the areas of reproductive rights, religious liberty, free speech, gender discrimination, and employment law; and

WHEREAS, Sybille, barely out of law school, served as lead attorney in the case of Doe V. Scott, a pre-Roe v. Wade decision which established that the federal right to privacy protects a woman's right to choose abortion; and

WHEREAS, She laid the legal groundwork for the successful challenge to a Chicago public college preparatory school that initally barred women from admission and, when the ban was lifted, required successful women applicants to earn higher scores than their male counterparts; and

WHEREAS, Sybille later served with distinction as executive director of the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under the Law; and

WHEREAS, Sybille's incisive mind and extraordinary constitutional vision provided a strong intellectual framework for her legal work on behalf of women, the poor, and racial minorities; and

WHEREAS, Her friends and neighbors, as well as all the people of Illinois, were sorry to lose her charm and her talents when she and Hellmut moved to Arizona; and

WHEREAS, This is the year Sybille celebrates her 80th birthday; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Sybille Fritzsche for her tireless work on behalf of civil rights and civil liberties, that we send her joy on her birthday, and that we wish her happy days in the years ahead; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Sybille Fritzsche as an expression of our profound respect and esteem.