Full Text of SR0202 103rd General Assembly
SR0202 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Barbara Ballinger of Oak Park, who | 4 | | passed away on November 14, 2022 at the age of 97; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger was born in Miami, Oklahoma in | 6 | | 1925; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger started her library career with | 8 | | the Oklahoma City Public Library; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger received a chauffeur's license | 10 | | to drive a bookmobile for the Topeka Public Library following | 11 | | her graduation from the University of Kansas; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger earned her master's degree in | 13 | | library sciences at the University of Illinois and landed a | 14 | | job as the assistant director of Oak Park Public Library's | 15 | | Maze branch in 1958; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger served as director of Oak | 17 | | Park's library system for 32 years before retiring in 1991; | 18 | | and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger led the Oak Park Public Library |
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| 1 | | during a period of tension and change, guided by the principle | 2 | | that public libraries are for all; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger was seen as an outstanding | 4 | | public servant who committed herself to literature, education, | 5 | | and Oak Park history; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger is credited with spearheading | 7 | | the collaboration between west suburban libraries in the 1970s | 8 | | and 1980s that would lay the groundwork for the SWAN network | 9 | | that exists today, allowing for the seamless distribution of | 10 | | materials throughout the suburbs; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger shared a July 21 birthday with | 12 | | Oak Park's famous native son, Ernest Hemingway, and was a | 13 | | dedicated volunteer with the Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park; | 14 | | and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger helped create the Ernest | 16 | | Hemingway Foundation Archives, now housed at Oak Park's Main | 17 | | Library, which includes translations of many of his works as | 18 | | well as a check for $100 that Hemingway intended to cover any | 19 | | outstanding fines; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger was a voracious reader and | 21 | | belonged to several local book clubs over the many decades |
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| 1 | | that she lived in Oak Park; she also talked many of those in | 2 | | her book clubs into reading books that they may have never been | 3 | | inclined to read normally; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger had a love for poetry, | 5 | | particularly by Gerard Manley Hopkins, and would joyfully open | 6 | | book club meetings with his poems; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger was also devoted to the Chicago | 8 | | Symphony Orchestra, as one of its longest subscribers, the | 9 | | Lyric Opera, particularly Wagner's monumental Ring Cycle, and | 10 | | the summer Ravinia Festival; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger was a recipient of the Senior | 12 | | Citizens' Center of Oak Park-River Forest's 2017 Ulyssean | 13 | | Award, which honors seniors committed to lifelong learning and | 14 | | who have made significant contributions to the community; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger was a vital fixture in the Oak | 16 | | Park community and played a leading role in the library, First | 17 | | United Church of Oak Park, the Doris Humphrey Society, and | 18 | | several other nonprofit organizations; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Ballinger will be missed by her family, | 20 | | many friends, and the Oak Park community who continue to | 21 | | benefit from the non-profit organizations she helped to |
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| 1 | | thrive; therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 3 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 4 | | Barbara Ballinger and extend our sincere condolences to her | 5 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it | 6 | | further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to the family of Barbara Ballinger as an expression | 9 | | of our deepest sympathy.
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