Full Text of SR0893 102nd General Assembly
SR0893 102ND 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 Janice Marie Mitchell, who passed away | 4 | | on November 15, 2021; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Janice Mitchell was born to Ola Mae Babers and | 6 | | LuArthur Washington in Natchitoches, Louisiana on February 1, | 7 | | 1963; she attended Weaver Elementary School, Natchitoches | 8 | | Junior High School, and Natchitoches Central High School; | 9 | | growing up, she was a member of the Second Baptist Church, | 10 | | Junior Usher Board, 4-H Club, Junior ROTC, and later ROTC; she | 11 | | served as Commander of the 378th Chemical Company of the U.S. | 12 | | Army Reserves Unit; she attended Southern University and A & M | 13 | | College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she obtained a | 14 | | bachelor's degree in Social Work in 1986; she then graduated | 15 | | from The University of Chicago with a master's degree in | 16 | | Social Work in 1988; she married Daniel "Danny" Mitchell in | 17 | | Natchitoches on May 27, 1989; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, After moving to Urbana, Janice Mitchell worked | 19 | | for various youth-serving organizations, including the | 20 | | Cunningham Children's Home, the Illinois Department of | 21 | | Children and Family Services, the Regional Office of | 22 | | Education, and Urbana School District 116; in 2010, she became | 23 | | founder and CEO of Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center, |
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| 1 | | Inc. (UNCC), which is a year-round community center that | 2 | | serves between 50 and 100 Pre-K to 12th grade students during | 3 | | after-school and summer programming hours; during the COVID-19 | 4 | | pandemic, UNCC's doors remained open all day to provide a | 5 | | space for students to engage in virtual learning in a | 6 | | supervised, supportive environment; she also started a cake | 7 | | decorating business called "Mitchell's Sweet Creations"; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Janice Mitchell served as a parent volunteer in | 9 | | the local schools and created programs to teach underserved | 10 | | youth about their rich heritage as well as provide academic | 11 | | and social-emotional enrichment; she founded "Prairie Tracks", | 12 | | "Brothas & Sistas" and "Sankofa Summer Exposures" programs for | 13 | | students at Prairie (Dr. Williams) Elementary and Urbana | 14 | | Middle School; she took students on trips to museums, theme | 15 | | parks, and college campuses all over the United States and | 16 | | Canada; she facilitated the provision of scholarships and | 17 | | laptops to several groups of graduating high school seniors in | 18 | | Champaign County; she decorated multiple venues for various | 19 | | occasions and worked alongside Urbana High School staff to | 20 | | assist pregnant teen girls in attaining their diplomas; she | 21 | | started the Urbana High School Equity & Social Justice Club, | 22 | | founded the College & Career Readiness Program as an extension | 23 | | of the center, and started the first youth praise dance | 24 | | ministry at Jericho Missionary Baptist Church; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Janice Mitchell was an active member of the | 2 | | Champaign County Housing Authority Board for 10 years; she | 3 | | attended Jericho Missionary Baptist Church where she served as | 4 | | usher board president and in countless other roles for over 25 | 5 | | years; in 2019, she was a founding member of the Greater | 6 | | Philadelphia Baptist Church in Urbana where she served in the | 7 | | usher ministry and as church clerk; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Janice Mitchell enjoyed sewing, cooking, | 9 | | traveling back home to Louisiana to spend time with her | 10 | | family, shopping in nearby major cities, and spending time | 11 | | with close friends; she was well known for her loving nature | 12 | | and unwavering service to her community, her faith, and her | 13 | | nation; she will be most remembered for her spirit of | 14 | | excellence, her passion for education, and her legacy of love; | 15 | | and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Janice Mitchell was preceded in death by her | 17 | | parents and her sibling, Mary Lee; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Janice Mitchell is survived by her husband of 32 | 19 | | years, Danny; her children, Jeniece and Everette Mitchell; her | 20 | | siblings, Ida, Susie, Gerlean, John, Shawn, and Glenda; her 28 | 21 | | nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews; and her | 22 | | godchildren, Lentroy Anderson, Tina Findley, Rakeem Sallee, | 23 | | Donald "Ducky" Stewart, Celina White, and most recently baby |
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| 1 | | Erique "EJ" Wright; therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 3 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 4 | | Janice Marie Mitchell and extend our sincere condolences to | 5 | | her 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 Janice Mitchell as an expression of | 9 | | our deepest sympathy.
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