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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Illinois State
4Representative Mary Flowers on becoming the longest-serving
5African American legislator in the history of Illinois upon
6the commencement of the 102nd General Assembly; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Rep. Flowers was born in Inverness, Mississippi
8on July 31, 1951 and moved to Chicago as a child with her
9family as part of a movement known as the Great Migration; she
10attended Simeon High School, Kennedy-King College, and the
11University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Circle; she then began
12working at UIC; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Rep. Flowers became interested in politics when
14reading about Harold Washington, then a State legislator; she
15began volunteering for him, and he encouraged her to run for
16state representative, which she did, winning her first
17election in 1984 and beginning her service in 1985; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Rep. Flowers's notable accomplishments include
19helping prevent public pension funds from being invested in
20South Africa due to apartheid, spearheading the naming of
21Chicago's Bishop Ford Expressway after Bishop Louis Henry
22Ford, and creating a hospital report card as the chief

 

 

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1sponsor, along with then-State Sen. Barack Obama, in order to
2ensure that consumers have access to information about the
3quality of health care provided in Illinois; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Rep. Flowers received legislator appreciation
5awards or legislator of the year awards from organizations
6including the Community Behavior Healthcare Association of
7Illinois, the Chicago Teachers Union, and the Illinois
8Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Rep. Flowers has focused her legislative work
10largely on improving the quality of life for children and
11families through measures to improve health care access and
12services, child and youth advocacy, and education; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Rep. Flowers and her late husband Daniel have a
14daughter, Makeda, and a granddaughter, Madison; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Committed to making a difference, Rep. Flowers
16works to improve the lives of all people in our State;
17therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
19HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
20we congratulate Illinois State Representative Mary Flowers on
21becoming the longest-serving African American legislator in

 

 

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1the history of Illinois upon the commencement of the 102nd
2General Assembly; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4presented to Rep. Flowers as a symbol of our respect and
5esteem.