Full Text of SR0707 98th General Assembly
SR0707 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Deverra Beverly of Chicago; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Deverra Beverly served the City of Chicago for | 5 | | over 30 years in the Department of Human Services; after | 6 | | retiring in 1997, she was elected to the first of numerous | 7 | | public housing resident leadership positions; she was the | 8 | | President of the Chicago Housing Authority's ABLA Homes Local | 9 | | Advisory Council, Vice-Chairman of the Central Advisory | 10 | | Council (CAC) from 2002 to 2008, interim CAC Chair from 2008 to | 11 | | 2009, and CAC Treasurer in 2009; on July 22, 2009, Mayor | 12 | | Richard M. Daley appointed her as a Commissioner on the Board | 13 | | of Commissioners; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Deverra Beverly emphasized the importance of | 15 | | teamwork, relationship building, and openness; she touched | 16 | | countless lives with the summer youth employment and | 17 | | after-school programs she championed; she lobbied for bringing | 18 | | in new construction jobs, tax assistance for seniors, | 19 | | sustainable "green" initiatives, and "safe passage" routes to | 20 | | combat violence and street gangs; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Deverra Beverly's commitment to the betterment of | 22 | | public housing was based on her having called public housing |
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| 1 | | home her entire life; she and her family moved into the Brooks | 2 | | Homes section of the ABLA housing development in 1943; she made | 3 | | the four housing projects of ABLA - the Jane Addams Homes, the | 4 | | Robert Brooks Homes, Loomis Courts, and the Grace Abbott Homes - | 5 | | known to the world by engaging national philanthropists like | 6 | | Brad Pitt's Make it Right Foundation and attracting the motion | 7 | | picture "Hardball" to film in her community; she joyfully | 8 | | extended hospitality annually for 30 years at the ABLA Day | 9 | | picnics, which brought together the residents of ABLA with | 10 | | Aldermen, the Mayor, police, and other city officials; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, As public housing buildings began to be torn down, | 12 | | Deverra Beverly led efforts to protect the last remaining | 13 | | building of the Jane Addams Homes; she envisioned transforming | 14 | | the building into a place to memorialize, teach, and create a | 15 | | new cultural commitment to the future of public housing; over | 16 | | the course of a decade, her efforts let to the creation of the | 17 | | National Public Housing Museum in 2007; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Deverra Beverly was preceded in death by her | 19 | | parents, Clyde Archibald and Priscilla Foster; her husband, | 20 | | William Pickens; her daughter, Christine Beverly; her son, | 21 | | Eugene Beverly; and her grandson, Keith Rawls; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Deverra Beverly is survived by her sons, Kenneth, | 23 | | Levert, Melvin, and William; her sisters, Rosetta and Mary Lou; |
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| 1 | | her 13 grandchildren; and a host of great-grandchildren; | 2 | | therefore, be it
| 3 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 4 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 5 | | Deverra Beverly, extend our sincere condolences to her family, | 6 | | friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to the family of Deverra Beverly as an expression of | 9 | | our deepest sympathy and in recognition of all she has | 10 | | contributed to the people of the ABLA Homes.
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