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LRB9218475HShs
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The Senate is grateful to those members who have
3 devoted their energy and talent to the betterment of this
4 body and the well being of the people of the State of
5 Illinois; and
6 WHEREAS, Senator Margaret Smith of Chicago was elected to
7 the Illinois State Senate in 1982 and has been re-elected by
8 overwhelming margins since her first election to the Senate
9 and has served this body with distinction throughout her 20
10 years as a member; and
11 WHEREAS, During her 20 years in the Senate, Senator Smith
12 has served as the chairwoman of the influential Senate Public
13 Health and Welfare Committee, where she had the distinction
14 of being the first female State Senator in the U.S. to serve
15 as the chairperson of the same committee chaired earlier by
16 her spouse, the late Senator Fred J. Smith, the minority
17 spokesperson on the Senate Public Health and Welfare
18 Committee, and most recently as the Democratic Caucus Chair;
19 and
20 WHEREAS, Senator Smith has served on the Senate
21 Committees on Appropriations, Commerce and Industry,
22 Insurance and Pensions, Executive Appointments, the
23 Legislative Space Needs Commission, the Legislative Printing
24 Unit, the Committee of Women Legislators (COWL), the Advisory
25 Board of the Illinois Sports Facility Authority, the
26 Legislative Black Caucus, the Anti-Crime Advisory Committee,
27 and the Illinois Steering Committee for Public Health's
28 Turning Point; and
29 WHEREAS, Senator Smith served the State of Illinois well
30 as a member of the National Conference of Black State
31 Legislators, the Midwestern Legislative Conference, where she
32 served on the Health and Human Services Committee and the
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1 Committee on Children, and the National Conference of State
2 Legislators (NCSL), where she once served as the chairperson
3 of the NCSL's Health and Human Services Committee; and
4 WHEREAS, Senator Smith has amassed numerous legislative
5 accomplishments which have enhanced the quality of life for
6 the people in the 3rd Senate District and of the people of
7 Illinois, including requiring the State to cover the cost of
8 mammograms for poor women, requiring insurance companies to
9 cover mammograms, protecting senior citizens in nursing homes
10 and assisted living facilities, allowing public aid
11 recipients making the transition from welfare to work to
12 receive Medicaid services for 12 months, improving the child
13 immunization system in Illinois, assisting women with ovarian
14 and cervical cancer, and mandating businesses to provide an
15 on-site location other than restroom for working mothers to
16 express milk to feed their infants during office hours, and
17 improving business opportunities for women and minorities;
18 and
19 WHEREAS, Senator Smith has been recognized for her
20 sponsorship and support of legislation on health care and
21 women's issues and accordingly has received the coveted
22 "Legislator of the Year Award" from every major public health
23 organization in Illinois, including the Illinois Nurses'
24 Association, the Illinois Health Care Association, and the
25 Illinois Hospital and Health Systems Association; and
26 WHEREAS, Senator Smith is the author of legislation
27 commissioning the creation of statues of Adelbert H. Roberts,
28 the first African American to serve in the State legislature,
29 and Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., as well as the portrait of her
30 late husband, Senator Fred J. Smith, all of which are on
31 display in the State Capitol and its complex in Springfield;
32 therefore be it
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1 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
2 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we offer our best
3 wishes to Senator Margaret Smith upon her retirement from the
4 Senate and we offer her hope for a rewarding future; and be
5 it further
6 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this preamble and
7 resolution be presented to Senator Margaret Smith as a
8 measure of our esteem and respect for our colleague and
9 friend.