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91_SR0363
LRB9114214KBkb
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3 to learn of the death of James Balanoff, Sr.; and
4 WHEREAS, Mr. Balanoff capped a thirty-year career as a
5 leader of the steelworkers union with his election from 1977
6 to 1981 as director of District 31, which then had 150,000
7 members in northern Illinois and Indiana, nearly four times
8 its current membership; and
9 WHEREAS, Upon his retirement from the union, Mr. Balanoff
10 entered local politics and was elected to two terms as a
11 Democrat on the Hammond City Council, from 1983 to 1987 and
12 again from 1991 to 1995; and
13 WHEREAS, At every stage of his life, Mr. Balanoff
14 displayed a real belief in standing up for the underdog and
15 social justice, working tirelessly for the members of his
16 union as well as for social issues such as civil rights,
17 women's rights, and the environment; and
18 WHEREAS, Mr. Balanoff was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba; his
19 parents were the former Katie Wozny, a third generation
20 Canadian, and James Balanoff, a young Bulgarian immigrant who
21 moved his family to the South Chicago neighborhood one year
22 after the birth of his son; and
23 WHEREAS, Mr. Balanoff's father opened a poultry store on
24 Commercial Avenue, which became the hub of the Bulgarian
25 immigrant community; he also became a community activist,
26 setting an example for his son; and
27 WHEREAS, Upon graduation from Bowen High School in 1939,
28 Mr. Balanoff joined the United States Army, serving in World
29 War II; he fought in the Battle of the Bulge and earned a
30 Bronze Star; he left the Army as a sergeant; and
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1 WHEREAS, Mr. Balanoff returned to the City of Chicago
2 after the service and went to work at Inland Steel in East
3 Chicago, Indiana; in 1948 he met his wife, Betty Brummell of
4 Salisbury, Missouri; she was a University of Chicago co-ed
5 serving on the presidential campaign for Henry Wallace's
6 Progressive Party when she met Mr. Balanoff, who was also
7 working on the campaign; and
8 WHEREAS, While working in the steel mills, Mr. Balanoff
9 worked his way through the ranks of Local 1010 of the United
10 Steelworkers of America, culminating with his election as
11 president of the local union in the mid-1970s; and
12 WHEREAS, Mr. Balanoff's commitment to the organized labor
13 movement is continued by his son, Thomas, who serves as
14 president of Local 73 of the Service Employees International
15 Union in Chicago and also the SEIU State Council; and
16 WHEREAS, Other members of the Balanoff family have also
17 held positions of public trust, including: Miriam Balanoff,
18 sister-in-law of Mr. Balanoff, serving as a former Cook
19 County Circuit judge and a former State Representative; his
20 nephew, Clem Balanoff, also served as a State Representative
21 and head of the Department of Streets and Sanitation for the
22 10th Ward during Mayor Harold Washington's administration;
23 and
24 WHEREAS, James Balanoff, Sr. is survived by his loving
25 wife, Betty; his sons, Thomas, James, Jr., and Joseph; his
26 daughter, Katherine Robinson; his brothers, John, Clem,
27 Theodore, and William; and his seven grandchildren;
28 therefore, be it
29 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIRST GENERAL
30 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we again express our
31 sympathy to the family and friends of James Balanoff, Sr.;
32 and be it further
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1 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented as a token of our sympathy to the family of James
3 Balanoff, Sr.