HR1306 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1306 LRB097 23488 MST 72431 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are proud to honor our esteemed colleague, State Representative Karen Yarbrough, and thank her for her many years of service to the residents of her district and the people of the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough is a native of Washington D.C., but established herself as a third generation entrepreneur in Cook County; she earned a degree in business administration from Chicago State University, a master's degree in inner city studies at Northeastern Illinois University, and completed a senior executive government program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough blazed trails in carrying on her family's tradition of work in the real estate, appraisal and insurance industry, making great strides as a woman in a then male-dominated profession; she was the founder and longtime chief executive officer of Hathaway Insurance, and was driven to succeed despite those who looked over her shoulder to see if the man who ran the business was around; she often shares this anecdote to inspire young women to persevere through adversity; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough became State Representative in 2001, and for more than 10 years has been a strong advocate for social justice and a society that measures itself by how it cares for its most vulnerable, especially young children, the disabled, and the elderly; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough served on numerous committees in the House of Representatives, including committees on housing, public safety appropriations, education, public health, environment, insurance, and the railroad industry, among many others; she was also selected by her peers to serve as Assistant Majority Leader; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough earned a reputation as a hardworking leader unafraid to fight for what she believes is right; among the tough issues she tackled was the legislative effort that made Illinois the first Midwestern state to ban indoor smoking and protect employees from the health risks of secondary smoke; and

WHEREAS, Public health has long been a priority for Rep. Yarbrough; she has helped numerous HIV/AIDS prevention and education organizations and hosts an annual breast cancer awareness event to bring local women together; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough believed that Illinois would be a better place if it ended the death penalty, taking up an effort that had made little progress in 30 years; she worked tirelessly to help others find the courage to stand for true justice and made Illinois the 16th state to repeal capital punishment, earning her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and an audience with Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough believes that many of society's problems stem from poverty, and she focused much of her legislative efforts to eliminate it, helping to create the Commission on the Elimination of Poverty; and

WHEREAS, To help battle violence in Chicago and Cook County, Rep. Yarbrough was one of the first state officials to endorse the CeaseFire anti-violence initiative, an effort using violence interrupters to mediate conflicts before they turn deadly; when CeaseFire dollars were slashed and violence started to rise, Yarbrough successfully fought to restore much State funding; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough was one of the first legislators to recognize that predatory mortgage lending practices had a deleterious effect on communities, especially communities of color, and fought to crack down on state-chartered banks and establish a program to track lending and offer mortgage counseling to potential buyers at risk; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough helped usher in the first major statewide capital construction program in Illinois in a decade to repair the state's crumbling roads, bridges and schools and create well-paying jobs; she helped to enact strong ethics reform to restore trust in state government; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough has received numerous awards recognizing her efforts to promote social justice, public health, fair housing, anti-violence, volunteerism and women's rights, and she proudly mentors young people who seek to become more involved in their communities; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Yarbrough enjoys spending time with her family, especially her husband, Henderson, who shares her passion for public service as Mayor of the Village of Maywood; she is especially proud of her children and grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank State Representative Karen Yarbrough for her service to her community and State, and wish her continued success in her new position as Cook County Recorder and in all her future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Rep. Karen Yarbrough as an expression of our respect and gratitude.