Full Text of SR0059 095th General Assembly
SR0059 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of Willye B. White of Chicago, the first | 4 |
| American to compete in five Olympics, who passed away on | 5 |
| February 6, 2007; and
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| WHEREAS,
Willye White was born December 31, 1939, in Money, | 7 |
| Mississippi, and grew up in Greenwood; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, Willye B. White competed in
every Olympics from | 9 |
| 1956 to 1972, with only an injury keeping her from the 1976 | 10 |
| team; in 1956 she was a 16-year old high school sophomore at | 11 |
| her first Olympics when she won a silver medal in
the long | 12 |
| jump; she won another silver medal in the 4 X 100 meter relay | 13 |
| in 1964; and
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| WHEREAS, She was America's best female long jumper for | 15 |
| almost two decades, with a career best of 21 feet 6 inches; she | 16 |
| won nine consecutive United States outdoor championships, set | 17 |
| seven American records and competed in 150 nations; and
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| WHEREAS, Willye White stood 5 feet 4 inches and 130 pounds, | 19 |
| and she could perform weightlifting squats with more than 380 | 20 |
| pounds; and
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| WHEREAS, She once reflected that she only could get | 2 |
| recognition through sports; she started track as a 10-year-old | 3 |
| sprinter, turning to the long jump because the field of | 4 |
| sprinters was so large at that time, and there were few people | 5 |
| in the long jump competition; and
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| WHEREAS, Willye White entered Tennessee State University, | 7 |
| where the track coach was the renowned Ed Temple; another | 8 |
| future Olympian, the sprinter Wilma Rudolph, was a teammate; | 9 |
| she left the school after six months; in 1960 she moved to | 10 |
| Chicago and, in 1976, earned a degree in public health | 11 |
| administration from Chicago State University; she began a | 12 |
| career as a practical nurse and spent 37 years working in city | 13 |
| government as a health administrator, a director of | 14 |
| recreational services, and a creator of sports programs for | 15 |
| young girls in housing projects; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, In 1991, she founded the Willye White Foundation | 17 |
| to help children develop self-esteem; she was elected to eleven | 18 |
| halls of fame including the International Women's Sports Hall | 19 |
| of Fame, the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, and the | 20 |
| Black Sports Hall of Fame; and | 21 |
| WHEREAS, Willye White is survived by her brother and her | 22 |
| sister; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 2 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 3 |
| her family and friends, the passing of Willye B. White; and be | 4 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 6 |
| presented to the family of Willye B. White as a symbol of our | 7 |
| respect and sympathy.
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