Full Text of SR0127 94th General Assembly
SR0127 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Senator Kimberly A. Lightford and the members of | 3 |
| the Senate of the State of Illinois learned with sadness of the | 4 |
| death of Leola Spann of Chicago on March 27, 2005 at the age of | 5 |
| 71; and
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| WHEREAS, Born in Natchez, Mississippi, she worked at a | 7 |
| foundry and on an assembly line while raising three daughters; | 8 |
| she retired to the Austin neighborhood in 1983;
when she | 9 |
| noticed that basic services were being ignored, she started as | 10 |
| a volunteer answering phones at the Northwest Austin Council, | 11 |
| where she quickly worked her way up to become Executive | 12 |
| Director, then President of the Board of Directors, a position | 13 |
| she held until her death; and
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| WHEREAS, She led the first lawsuit in the State to use | 15 |
| nuisance abatement law to shut down a notorious drug haven; the | 16 |
| Northwest Austin Council used the nuisance abatement law to | 17 |
| shut down 40 drug houses; she helped obtain federal funds to | 18 |
| improve the neighborhood in the form of the Austin Weed and | 19 |
| Seed Program; the Northwest Austin Council piloted the first | 20 |
| community policing effort in the Chicago area; and
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| WHEREAS, She guided community efforts to organize and train | 22 |
| parents regarding school reform; the Northwest Austin Council | 23 |
| worked with other community organizations for full school | 24 |
| funding; she spearheaded an effort to revitalize Austin High | 25 |
| School and instill a sense of pride and accomplishment in | 26 |
| students, staff, parents, and the community; and
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| WHEREAS, Out of concern over the disparity of health care | 28 |
| in the African-American community, she was instrumental in | 29 |
| saving the St. Anne's Hospital facility for the community and | 30 |
| in the creation of the Westside Health Authority, which works | 31 |
| to improve the health of the community's residents and preserve |
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| health services; and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, As the President of the Friends of the North | 3 |
| Austin Library, she was responsible for getting a major | 4 |
| expansion project completed at the library; and
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| WHEREAS, She used a model of environmental justice to start | 6 |
| the Austin Green Team, which was responsible for turning | 7 |
| abandoned lots into gardens that beautify the community; and
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| WHEREAS, In her retirement, she spearheaded the Tenants | 9 |
| Association at the Beth-Anne Senior Building to organize | 10 |
| tenants; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of Leola Spann is deeply felt by all | 12 |
| who knew and loved her, especially her daughters, Anita Brown, | 13 |
| Barbara Hill, and Laura Vann; her brother, John Dorsey; her | 14 |
| sister, Mary Peery; and her six grandchildren and five | 15 |
| great-grandchildren; and
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| WHEREAS, Senator Kimberly A. Lightford will forever | 17 |
| embrace the loving kindness with which Leola Spann greeted her | 18 |
| from the first day they met; Leola will always be remembered as | 19 |
| the grandmother of the Austin Community and for her tireless | 20 |
| efforts to improve the lives of others; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 22 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that even as her death is | 23 |
| mourned, we give thanks for the blessing of Leola Spann's life | 24 |
| and extend our sincerest condolences to her family, friends, | 25 |
| and community, whose grief we share; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 27 |
| presented to her family as an expression of our deepest | 28 |
| sympathy.
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