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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives were saddened to learn of the death of William
4 "Les" Brown of Chicago on April 11, 2005; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Mr. Brown was the founder of the Chicago Coalition
6 for the Homeless, which he headed for over two decades; the
7 coalition, founded in 1980, strived towards improving the lives
8 of homeless and impoverished people throughout Chicago; and
 
9     WHEREAS, William "Les" Brown was born William Leslie Brown
10 in 1940, in Tampa, Florida; he grew up on a small farm in
11 Doraville, Georgia, where he developed his love for the
12 outdoors; and
 
13     WHEREAS, He earned a bachelor's degree from Erskine College
14 in South Carolina; he also received a master's degree in social
15 work from Loyola University Chicago; in between receiving the
16 two degrees, he enlisted in the Air Force and served as a
17 medical corpsman in England; and
 
18     WHEREAS, He was the first president of the Chicago
19 Coalition for the Homeless, later serving as its executive
20 director; from 1990 until his death, he served as the
21 coalition's director of policy; the coalition helped host the
22 first national conference on homelessness in Chicago in 1983;
23 and
 
24     WHEREAS, In 1984, he received a heart transplant at Loyola
25 University Medical Center in Maywood; he was the hospital's
26 longest surviving heart transplant recipient; and
 
27     WHEREAS, He was a founder and former president of the
28 Illinois Coalition for the Homeless; he was also a founding
29 board member of the newspaper, Streetwise, as well as a board

 

 

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1 member for other local and state groups advocating for
2 improving the lives of the homeless; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Mr. Brown served as director of social work
4 services for the Travelers and Immigrants Aid Society, which is
5 now the Heartland Alliance; he also documented the growing
6 number of homeless people living at the Greyhound bus terminal,
7 Union Station, and O'Hare Airport; and
 
8     WHEREAS, His accomplishments include leading protests that
9 led to low-income apartment units being established in the
10 government-subsidized West Loop Presidential Towers complex;
11 he utilized a federal law to successfully acquire lakefront
12 land near Navy Pier; the land he acquired was originally to be
13 used as gardens to provide work for homeless people, but was
14 later exchanged for land on the South Side that became the
15 "Growing Home" agriculture job training program; and
 
16     WHEREAS, He also helped acquire 10 acres of land in
17 Marseilles that is currently farmed by homeless people from
18 Chicago; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Mr. Brown is survived by his wife, Diana Leifer;
20 his son, Jesse; his daughter, Mari Herreras-Zinman; his sister,
21 Claudia Lewis; and his two grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
22     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
23 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
24 we mourn the passing of William "Les" Brown along with all who
25 knew and loved him and extend our sincere condolences to his
26 family, friends, and community; and be it further
 
27     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
28 presented to the family of William "Les" Brown as an expression
29 of our deepest sympathy.