Illinois 2023-2024 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HR0690 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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3	3	1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
4	4	2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
5	5	3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Cook
6	6	4 County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, a trailblazing Maywood Democrat
7	7	5 who served in public office for more than two decades; and
8	8	6 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough was born on August 22, 1950; she
9	9	7 was a native of Washington D.C. but established herself as a
10	10	8 third generation entrepreneur in Cook County; she earned a
11	11	9 degree in business administration from Chicago State
12	12	10 University and a master's degree in Inner City Studies at
13	13	11 Northeastern Illinois University and completed a senior
14	14	12 executive government program at Harvard's Kennedy School of
15	15	13 Government; and
16	16	14 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough made significant contributions
17	17	15 after entering her family's tradition of work in the real
18	18	16 estate, appraisal, and insurance industry, especially as a
19	19	17 woman in a then male-dominated profession; she was the founder
20	20	18 and longtime chief executive officer of Hathaway Insurance and
21	21	19 was driven to succeed despite those who looked over her
22	22	20 shoulder to see if the man who ran the business was around; she
23	23	21 often shared this anecdote to inspire young women to persevere
24	24	22 through adversity; and
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33	33	1 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough was sworn in as a state
34	34	2 representative in 2001 and served for a time as assistant
35	35	3 majority leader; she earned a reputation as a hardworking
36	36	4 leader unafraid to fight for what she believed was right; and
37	37	5 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough was elected Cook County Recorder
38	38	6 of Deeds in 2012 and Clerk in 2018; she was the first Black
39	39	7 person and first woman to serve as Cook County Clerk; when the
40	40	8 recorder's office was eliminated, she assumed all duties of
41	41	9 that office as county clerk in 2020; and
42	42	10 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough believed that Illinois would be a
43	43	11 better place if it ended the death penalty, taking up an effort
44	44	12 that had made little progress in 30 years; she worked
45	45	13 tirelessly to help others find the courage to stand for true
46	46	14 justice and made Illinois the 16th state to repeal capital
47	47	15 punishment, earning her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and an
48	48	16 audience with Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City; and
49	49	17 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough believed than many of society's
50	50	18 problems stem from poverty, and she focused much of her effort
51	51	19 on eliminating it; she passed legislation creating the
52	52	20 Commission on the Elimination of Poverty in 2008, and as a
53	53	21 long-time member of the commission, she led its efforts to
54	54	22 expand access to affordable housing, adequate food and
55	55	23 nutrition, quality health care, equal access to education,
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66	66	1 dependable transportation, enriching child care for all,
67	67	2 opportunities to earn a living wage, and availability of
68	68	3 adequate income supports; and
69	69	4 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough recognized that predatory
70	70	5 mortgage lending practices had a deleterious effect on
71	71	6 communities, especially communities of color, and fought to
72	72	7 crack down on state-chartered banks and establish a program to
73	73	8 track lending and offer mortgage counseling to potential
74	74	9 buyers at risk; and
75	75	10 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough helped usher in the first major
76	76	11 statewide capital construction program in Illinois in a decade
77	77	12 to repair the state's crumbling roads, bridges, and schools
78	78	13 and create jobs; and
79	79	14 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough led the passage of the Smoke Free
80	80	15 Illinois Act, one of her proudest achievements, which
81	81	16 eliminated indoor smoking in bars, restaurants, and other
82	82	17 public places, protecting countless workers, customers, and
83	83	18 medically vulnerable individuals from the effects of
84	84	19 secondhand smoke; while at the time some believed the effort
85	85	20 could not be done, she fought for what was right and made
86	86	21 Illinois a leader in the effort to eliminate indoor smoking;
87	87	22 her policy is now law in the majority of the country; and
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98	98	1 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough was active in Democratic Party
99	99	2 politics, working for both the Cook County Democratic Party
100	100	3 and the Democratic Party of Illinois; she was a Democratic
101	101	4 committeeperson representing west suburban Proviso Township
102	102	5 for the Cook County party, where she was also the treasurer;
103	103	6 she was a member of the state central committee for the
104	104	7 Illinois party; and
105	105	8 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough received numerous awards
106	106	9 recognizing her efforts to promote social justice, public
107	107	10 health, fair housing, anti-violence, volunteerism and women's
108	108	11 rights, and she proudly mentored young people who sought to
109	109	12 become more involved in their communities; and
110	110	13 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough enjoyed spending time with her
111	111	14 family and was especially proud of her children and
112	112	15 grandchildren; and
113	113	16 WHEREAS, Karen Yarbrough was a dedicated public servant
114	114	17 who was always encouraging and paved the way for many; she was
115	115	18 a wonderful human being and was loved by many; therefore, be it
116	116	19 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
117	117	20 HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
118	118	21 we mourn the death of Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, a
119	119	22 trailblazing Maywood Democrat who served in public office for
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130	130	1 more than two decades; and be it further
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