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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Deverra Beverly of Chicago; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Deverra Beverly served the City of Chicago for
5over 30 years in the Department of Human Services; after
6retiring in 1997, she was elected to the first of numerous
7public housing resident leadership positions; she was the
8President of the Chicago Housing Authority's ABLA Homes Local
9Advisory Council, Vice-Chairman of the Central Advisory
10Council (CAC) from 2002 to 2008, interim CAC Chair from 2008 to
112009, and CAC Treasurer in 2009; on July 22, 2009, Mayor
12Richard M. Daley appointed her as a Commissioner on the Board
13of Commissioners; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Deverra Beverly emphasized the importance of
15teamwork, relationship building, and openness; she touched
16countless lives with the summer youth employment and
17after-school programs she championed; she lobbied for bringing
18in new construction jobs, tax assistance for seniors,
19sustainable "green" initiatives, and "safe passage" routes to
20combat violence and street gangs; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Deverra Beverly's commitment to the betterment of
22public housing was based on her having called public housing

 

 

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1home her entire life; she and her family moved into the Brooks
2Homes section of the ABLA housing development in 1943; she made
3the four housing projects of ABLA - the Jane Addams Homes, the
4Robert Brooks Homes, Loomis Courts, and the Grace Abbott Homes -
5 known to the world by engaging national philanthropists like
6Brad Pitt's Make it Right Foundation and attracting the motion
7picture "Hardball" to film in her community; she joyfully
8extended hospitality annually for 30 years at the ABLA Day
9picnics, which brought together the residents of ABLA with
10Aldermen, the Mayor, police, and other city officials; and
 
11    WHEREAS, As public housing buildings began to be torn down,
12Deverra Beverly led efforts to protect the last remaining
13building of the Jane Addams Homes; she envisioned transforming
14the building into a place to memorialize, teach, and create a
15new cultural commitment to the future of public housing; over
16the course of a decade, her efforts let to the creation of the
17National Public Housing Museum in 2007; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Deverra Beverly was preceded in death by her
19parents, Clyde Archibald and Priscilla Foster; her husband,
20William Pickens; her daughter, Christine Beverly; her son,
21Eugene Beverly; and her grandson, Keith Rawls; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Deverra Beverly is survived by her sons, Kenneth,
23Levert, Melvin, and William; her sisters, Rosetta and Mary Lou;

 

 

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1her 13 grandchildren; and a host of great-grandchildren;
2therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
4ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
5Deverra Beverly, extend our sincere condolences to her family,
6friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
8presented to the family of Deverra Beverly as an expression of
9our deepest sympathy and in recognition of all she has
10contributed to the people of the ABLA Homes.