HR0165 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0165 LRB096 11925 GRL 23198 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to honor accomplishments in the lives of citizens of the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Deborah Harrington, a woman who has empowered, uplifted, and served the people of Chicago, particularly the women of Chicago, has won the Civic Engagement, Community Service and Community Organizing Award from the University of Illinois at Chicago's Department of Gender and Women's Studies; and

WHEREAS, Deborah received her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Illinois; she performed postgraduate studies at the University of Ghana in West Africa; and

WHEREAS, Deborah spent the first 20 years of her professional career working in the public sector, holding positions in the Illinois Department of Employment Security, Department of Public Aid, and Department of Human Services; she was a member of the Governor's Taskforce for Human Services Reform and worked on the design and implementation of the State's human services delivery system and on the implementation of the 1996 Welfare Act; and

WHEREAS, Deborah has been exceptionally involved in community service and public policy at the local, State, and federal levels; she is the President of the Woods Fund of Chicago, a Chicago-based foundation whose mission is to "give voice to less advantaged people and communities"; as an appointee to the public policy advisory board of the National Council on Foundations, she facilitated development of the Paul Ylvisaker Award for Public Policy; she is a member of the Mayoral Policy Caucus; she is a board member of the Donors Forum of Chicago and an advisory board member of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois; she is Vice President of the board of Business and Professional People for the Public Interest and serves as trustee to several other community-based, non-profit, and civic organizations; and

WHEREAS, Deborah also does extensive volunteer work with the Field Museum; she is a fair housing auditor for open communities, a facilitator and liaison with the Chicago neighborhood policing program, and a mayoral appointee of the Chicago Sister Cities International Executive Committee; and

WHEREAS, Deborah has worked tirelessly to combat poverty, promote fair housing, and garner resources to support community-based organizations struggling to make a difference in the lives of low-income women and their families in Chicago; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Deborah Harrington on being given the Civic Engagement, Community Service and Community Organizing Award from the University of Illinois at Chicago's Department of Gender and Women's Studies and wish her continued success in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Deborah Harrington as a sign of our affection, our gratitude, and our respect.