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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Lynda
4DeLaforgue of Chicago, who passed away on January 12, 2019; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Lynda DeLaforgue was born in Chicago to James and
6June DeLaforgue on February 18, 1958; she was raised in
7Franklin Park; her father was a tuck pointer and a village
8firefighter, and her mother was employed in the business office
9of a local paper company; she graduated from Rockford College
10in 1980, where she majored in theater and was active in local
11community productions; in 1985, she married Hans Hintzen, and
12they settled in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood; they later
13divorced; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Lynda DeLaforgue was working as an actress and
15looking for part-time work when she took a job fundraising for
16the relatively new Illinois Public Action Council; effective as
17a door-to-door canvasser and recruiter, she soon became the
18group's Rockford office manager and helped organize a voter
19registration drive leading up to the 1984 election; she then
20became the group's statewide canvass manager and helped set up
21similar canvass operations in other states; she also took an
22increasing role in the organization's issue work, especially
23around health policy and consumer protection; she was

 

 

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1simultaneously involved in many progressive political
2campaigns and helped elect Paul Simon to the U.S. Senate in
31984, reelect Mayor Harold Washington in 1987, and send Jan
4Schakowsky to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1990;
5after the Illinois Public Action Council closed in 1997, she
6became the associate director of the newly constituted Citizen
7Action/Illinois; three years later she became its co-director,
8a position she held until her death; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Over the past two decades, Lynda DeLaforgue was
10the day-to-day driving force behind Citizen Action/Illinois
11and its work; she oversaw its finances while supervising and
12mentoring young staff members; she was a regular presence at
13Chicago City Hall and the Cook County Building, as well as in
14Springfield and in Washington, where she served on the board of
15Citizen Action's national federation; she was the chief
16strategist for many of the organization's biggest policy
17battles, including regulating predatory payday loans, ensuring
18food safety, opposing Social Security privatization, winning
19marriage equality, and ensuring the rights of consumers to
20affordable energy and health insurance; she was also at the
21helm of the Citizen Action's electoral efforts that registered
22new voters, turned out the vote, and rallied other progressives
23behind Barack Obama's run for the U.S. Senate in 2004; her
24efforts also helped elect many other progressive candidates,
25including Governor JB Pritzker; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Lynda DeLaforgue had a wide variety of other
2interests; she was passionate about her garden, enjoyed combing
3estate sales for vintage clothing and jewelry, and traveled
4widely, frequently visiting her sister in Italy, and
5corresponding with distant relations in France; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Lynda DeLaforgue is survived by her life partner,
7Brian Reizfeld; her mother, June Kaczur-Tate; her daughter,
8Katy; her son, Jordan; and her sister, Laura; therefore, be it
 
9    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
10HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
11we mourn the passing of Lynda DeLaforgue and extend our sincere
12condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved
13her; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15presented to the family of Lynda DeLaforgue as an expression of
16our deepest sympathy.