SR0570 LRB096 17615 GRL 32973 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of Esther N. Schulman of Chicago, who passed
4 away on August 31, 2009; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Esther Schulman was raised on the Chicago's West
6 Side; she was the daughter of Isadore and Sadie Nettis; after
7 graduating from Marshall High School in 1936, she went to work
8 at her father's business, the California Ale & Beverage Company
9 in Chicago, while studying accounting at night; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Shortly after the end of World War II, Esther
11 Schulman was introduced by mutual friends to an older
12 neighborhood resident, Eli Schulman; the couple married in 1948
13 in Chicago; together, the pair opened a grill at Sheridan Road
14 and Argyle Street in Chicago; in 1962, her husband decided to
15 open Eli's Stage Delicatessen on Oak Street; the business
16 quickly became a success, attracting many stars of the era; in
17 1966, Eli and Esther opened Eli's the Place for Steak in a
18 luxury hotel called the Carriage House on Chicago Avenue;
19 despite the restaurant's many dishes, the most renowned item
20 was the cheesecake, which became so popular that Eli started
21 selling it to grocery stores in the early 1980s; today, Eli's
22 Cheesecake Chicago operates out of a Northwest Side factory,
23 which bakes more than 18,000 cheesecakes and desserts daily for

 

 

SR0570 - 2 - LRB096 17615 GRL 32973 r

1 sale throughout the country and internationally; and
 
2     WHEREAS, After her husband's death in 1988, Esther Schulman
3 took a more prominent role in the restaurant until it closed in
4 2005; she worked in the office during the days and in the
5 dining room at night, charming a wide variety of guests, from
6 tourists to President Bill Clinton and Frank Sinatra; she was
7 also involved in the fundraising efforts to rebuild Seneca Park
8 and create the Eli M. Schulman Playground, both across the
9 street from the site of Eli's; and
 
10     WHEREAS, In her later years, Esther Schulman enjoyed
11 spending afternoons in the park and watching children play; she
12 also supported hundreds of local civic and charitable groups
13 with donations of desserts and money; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Esther Schulman was preceded in death by her
15 parents and her husband; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Esther Schulman is survived her son, Marc, and her
17 3 granddaughters; therefore, be it
 
18     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
19 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
20 her family and friends, the passing of Esther N. Schulman; and
21 be it further
 

 

 

SR0570 - 3 - LRB096 17615 GRL 32973 r

1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to the family of Esther Schulman as an expression of
3 our sympathy.