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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to congratulate Charlene Wexler of
4 Richmond on being presented with the 2025 Senior Illinoisan
5 Hall of Fame Award and on being inducted into the Senior
6 Illinoisans Hall of Fame; and
7 WHEREAS, Each year, the Department on Aging presents the
8 Senior Illinoisan Hall of Fame Award to, and thereby inducts
9 into the Senior Illinoisans Hall of Fame, four Illinois senior
10 citizens for their noteworthy contributions to the arts,
11 education, community service, or the labor force; and
12 WHEREAS, Charlene Wexler is a native Chicagoan, a graduate
13 of the University of Illinois, and the award-winning author of
14 several novels, poems, and collections of short fiction and
15 essays, including Lori, Elephants in the Room, Farewell to
16 South Shore, Milk and Oranges, Murder Across the Ocean, and
17 Murder on Skid Row; and
18 WHEREAS, Charlene Wexler's journey as a writer began when
19 her son Jeffrey was diagnosed with leukemia at age 8; and
20 WHEREAS, During her son's illness, Charlene Wexler kept a
21 journal as a form of therapy, and when her son died at age 12,
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1 she channeled her grief into her first novel, Lori; and
2 WHEREAS, Charlene Wexler's work has since appeared in a
3 variety of publications, including North Shore magazine, the
4 University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry's
5 Vision magazine, and the Gazette newspaper of Chicago; and
6 WHEREAS, Charlene Wexler has received many honors for her
7 writing, including a Global Book Award (Bronze) in the
8 Contemporary Fiction category, as well as a Four Seasons Book
9 Award (Fall Finalist), for Farewell to South Shore, an Award
10 of Excellence in the 2016 Apex Awards competition for
11 Elephants in the Room, an Award of Excellence in the 2015 Apex
12 Awards competition for Murder Across the Ocean, and a Grand
13 Award in the 2012 Apex Awards competition, as well as a Bronze
14 Award in the Women's Issues Category in the eLit Book Awards
15 competition, for Milk and Oranges; and
16 WHEREAS, Charlene Wexler currently lives in Richmond with
17 her husband, Dr. Sam Wexler, and enjoys the company of her 3
18 grandchildren; and
19 WHEREAS, By writing books about strong women, the women's
20 movement, family relations, and the loss of a child in a manner
21 that weaves together both laughter and sorrow and by creating
22 historical fiction that draws from the experiences of her
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1 life, Charlene Wexler inspires her readers to adhere to her
2 life advice: "Follow your dream. You can do it, and it's never
3 too late."; therefore, be it
4 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
5 HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
6 we congratulate Charlene Wexler on her induction into the
7 Senior Illinoisans Hall of Fame and acknowledge her hard work
8 and devotion to the art of writing; and be it further
9 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10 presented to Charlene Wexler as an expression of our respect
11 and esteem for her illustrious and successful career as an
12 author.
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