Full Text of HR0787 102nd General Assembly
HR0787 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Helen | 4 | | Marie Ramirez-Odell of Chicago, who passed away on March 22, | 5 | | 2022; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell was born to Irving J. and | 7 | | Jessamine Hershinow in Chicago on July 22, 1942; she grew up in | 8 | | the Lincoln Square neighborhood; she attended Loyola | 9 | | University Chicago, where she earned her Bachelor of Science | 10 | | in Nursing and her Registered Nurse license in 1964; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell worked as a nurse at Chicago | 12 | | Public Schools for over 40 years before retiring in 2001; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell's activism began in the 1960s | 14 | | when she discovered she could not secure credit to make a | 15 | | purchase from Goldblatt's because she was a woman, leading her | 16 | | to join the Chicago National Organization for Women (NOW), | 17 | | where she became an activist for the passage of the Equal | 18 | | Rights Amendment; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell joined the Chicago Teachers | 20 | | Union in the 1970s and became a member of its Women's Rights | 21 | | Committee, which she chaired from 1984 to 2009; during her |
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| 1 | | tenure, the committee worked to end sexual harassment, | 2 | | supported women's advancement at the Washburne Trade School, | 3 | | sought to improve conditions and employment for women in | 4 | | sports, promoted women's labor history, supported women | 5 | | political candidates, and fought for women's health, birth | 6 | | control, and reproductive choice; she was also active in the | 7 | | Chicago Coalition of Labor Union Women and Cassandra, a | 8 | | Radical Feminist Nurses Network; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell helped found the Women in | 10 | | Labor History Project in 1995, later called the Working | 11 | | Women's History Project, which is a nonprofit organization | 12 | | focused on preserving and promoting the stories of historical | 13 | | and living Chicago women who have contributed to achieving | 14 | | justice and equality in areas of labor, women's health, and | 15 | | civil rights; her book, Working Without Uniforms: School | 16 | | Nursing in Chicago 1951-2001, which is a collection of oral | 17 | | histories of Chicago Public School nurses, was published as | 18 | | one of the first acts of the Working Women's History Project; | 19 | | and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell, with a coalition from across | 21 | | the City of Chicago, worked on the Mother Jones Heritage | 22 | | Project, campaigning for a Mother Jones statue to honor the | 23 | | contributions of Mother Jones to the Labor Movement and to | 24 | | women; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell was a loving wife, mother, | 2 | | sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt and a fierce | 3 | | activist; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell was preceded in death by her | 5 | | parents; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Helen Ramirez-Odell is survived by her husband, | 7 | | Paul A. Odell; her daughter, Moira (Ramirez) Melendez; her | 8 | | stepchildren, Cyndi (Odell) Christel and Stephen (Merri) | 9 | | Odell; her grandchildren, Michael Melendez, Carson (Sarah), | 10 | | Steve, Ryan (Emily), and David; her great-grandchildren, | 11 | | Makailyn, Isabelle, and Ryan Junior; her brothers, Bob (the | 12 | | late Pat) Hershinow and Paul Hershinow; her nephew, Kevin | 13 | | McLinden; her cousins, Ellen Nyberg and Larry (Marianne) | 14 | | Nyberg; and a host of other friends and family; therefore, be | 15 | | it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 17 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 18 | | we mourn the passing of Helen Marie Ramirez-Odell and extend | 19 | | our sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who | 20 | | knew and loved her; and be it further
| 21 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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| 1 | | presented to the family of Helen Ramirez-Odell as an | 2 | | expression of our deepest sympathy.
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