Full Text of HR1153 93rd General Assembly
HR1153 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives were saddened to learn of the death of Dr. | 4 |
| Barbara Ann Laffoon Sizemore of Chicago on July 24, 2004; and
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| WHEREAS, Barbara Ann was born in December 1927 to the union | 6 |
| of Sylvester Walter Laffoon and Delila Mae Alexander Stewart; | 7 |
| she was raised in Terre Haute, Indiana where she graduated high | 8 |
| school at age 16; she earned a B.A. and an M.A. both from | 9 |
| Northwestern University; she received a Ph.D. in Educational | 10 |
| Administration from the University of Chicago; and
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| WHEREAS, She was a teacher and administrator with the | 12 |
| Chicago public schools for 25 years from 1947 to 1972; she was | 13 |
| the first black woman to head a big city school system when she | 14 |
| was tapped as superintendent of schools for Washington, D.C., | 15 |
| from 1973 to 1975; she was professor and interim chairman of | 16 |
| the Department of Black Community, Research and Education at | 17 |
| the University of Pittsburgh from 1977 to 1992; in 1992, she | 18 |
| returned to Chicago, where she began her tenure as dean of the | 19 |
| School of Education at DePaul University; at DePaul, she | 20 |
| founded the School Achievement Structure, an organization that | 21 |
| used the "Structured Ten Routines," a model that accelerates | 22 |
| achievement and educational excellence in underachieving | 23 |
| schools and districts; she retired in 1999 and lectured to | 24 |
| thousands of educators and organizations about the model and | 25 |
| other educational issues; and
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| WHEREAS, Dr. Sizemore was involved with numerous | 27 |
| organizations where she worked diligently to bring equal access | 28 |
| to educational opportunities for underserved and black | 29 |
| children; she worked to desegregate the Pittsburg Public | 30 |
| Schools, and was an instrumental member of Pittsburghers | 31 |
| Against Apartheid, an organization that struggled to end | 32 |
| apartheid in South Africa; and
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HR1153 |
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| WHEREAS, She was the recipient of numerous awards and | 2 |
| recognitions and was a well-recognized scholar and author who | 3 |
| penned over 20 chapters in books and 20 articles in journals; | 4 |
| she authored, "The Ruptured Diamond: The Politics of the | 5 |
| Decentralization of the District of Columbia Public Schools," | 6 |
| and was completing a second book, which will be published | 7 |
| posthumously; and
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| WHEREAS, She was an educator, public speaker, and scholar | 9 |
| whose philosophy was that all children can learn and who | 10 |
| throughout her career worked to close the achievement gap | 11 |
| between black and white students; she encouraged educators to | 12 |
| spend more time teaching vocabulary and grammar to black | 13 |
| students and supported teaching traditional methods of phonics | 14 |
| for children who cannot read, rather than using the newer | 15 |
| methods that allowed children to write without regard to | 16 |
| correct spelling; she will be remembered as a strong, | 17 |
| independent, loving and giving woman; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of Dr. Barbara Ann Laffoon Sizemore | 19 |
| will be deeply felt by many, especially her children, Furman | 20 |
| Sizemore, Jake Milliones, Kymara Chase, Furman Sizemore, | 21 |
| Beatena Nance (LaRon), Dubois Milliones, Momar Milliones, and | 22 |
| Marimba Milliones; her grandchildren; her godchildren; and her | 23 |
| countless other family and friends; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 25 |
| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 26 |
| mourn the death of Dr. Barbara Ann Laffoon Sizemore along with | 27 |
| all who knew and loved her and extend our sincere condolences | 28 |
| to her family and friends; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 30 |
| presented to the family of Dr. Barbara Ann Laffoon Sizemore as | 31 |
| a token of our deepest sympathy.
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