Bill Text: IL HJR0162 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mourns the death of former Illinois State Representative and State Senator Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-11-15 - Resolution Adopted [HJR0162 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-HJR0162-Introduced.html

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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives and Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of
the death of the beloved former Illinois State Representative
and State Senator Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor, who passed
away on September 10, 2016; and
WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor was born on January
16, 1925 in Chicago; she moved with her family to Davenport,
Iowa and to Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada, due to her father's
parish assignments; after returning to Chicago, she attended
Sherwood Elementary School and Englewood High School; after
high school, she married Lawrence Taylor and had a child, Gayla
Aniece; and
WHEREAS, With the help of her father, Ethel Skyles
Alexander-Taylor was able to secure a position at the Clerk's
Office of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Criminal Division,
Appeal Section; afterwards, she became the first woman to be
appointed Assistant Chief Deputy Clerk of the Criminal Division
of the Circuit Court in 1973; her tenure at the Circuit Court
of Cook County lasted 33 years; she then furthered her
education at Wilson and received a degree from Loop (now Harold
Washington) College as well as enrolling in an IBM Executive
Training Course; and

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WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor taught the first
training school for Courtroom Minute Clerks in clerical
procedures; she served as Ward Committeewoman of the 20th Ward
Regular Democratic Organization for 21 years and as precinct
Captain of the 20th Ward Regular Democratic Organization for 28
years; and
WHEREAS, In 1978, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor was
elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, where she was
known for waving a red handkerchief in the air whenever she
wanted to discuss an issue with fellow legislators; in 1986,
she was appointed to replace the late Charles Chew in the State
Senate, where she remained until her retirement in 1993; while
in the legislature, she served as Vice-Chair of the Elections
and Reapportionment Committee and co-sponsored a bill that
prohibited State agencies from trading with apartheid-era
South Africa; she was also a leading advocate for Mayor Harold
Washington; and
WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor served as a mentor
to many legislators and trained them on proper decorum; she
also focused on issues that would empower the African-American
community, stressed the importance in working with trade
unions, emphasized social issues, and underscored the
necessity of economic empowerment in the African-American

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community; and
WHEREAS, As a State Representative, Ethel Skyles
Alexander-Taylor served on the following committees during the
81st to 84th General Assemblies: Appropriations II, Cities &
Villages (Vice Chair), Elections (Chair), Energy, Environment,
and National Resources, Judiciary II, Revenue, State
Government Administration and Regulatory Review, and Urban
Redevelopment; as a State Senator, she served on the following
committees during the 85th to 87th General Assemblies: Consumer
Affairs, Elections & Reapportionment (Vice Chair and Chair),
Energy & Environment, Judiciary, Judiciary II, Local
Government, and Revenue; and
WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor was a sponsor of
many major bills that became law, including P.A. 82-627 (1981),
which created the Domestic Violence Act; P.A. 82-453 (1981),
which amended the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act to
penalize making false reports of abuse or neglect and make
other changes; P.A. 82-517 (1981), which amended the Criminal
Code by imposing stricter penalties for juror harassment; P.A.
82-291 (1981), which amended the Criminal Code by imposing
stricter penalties for witness interference; P.A. 83-144
(1984), which authorized the Department of Public Aid to
authorize payments to medical providers for diagnosis and
treatment of sickle cell anemia for people qualifying for

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services under Public Aid Code Section 5-2; P.A. 83-1067
(1984), which amended the Criminal Code and Code of Criminal
Procedure to repeal existing sex crimes and replace them with
criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault,
criminal sexual abuse, and aggravated criminal sexual abuse;
P.A. 83-495 (1983), which amended the Rape Victims Emergency
Treatment Act by requiring hospitals to submit plans for
providing emergency care to rape victims; P.A. 83-500 (1984),
which amended the Rape Victims Emergency Treatment Act to
require the City of Chicago and law enforcement to distribute
Vitullo rape evidence kits to hospitals; P.A. 83-1406 (1984),
which amended the Communicable Disease Act to allow reporting
of sexually transmitted diseases in minors under the age of 11
in accordance with the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting
Act; P.A. 86-1168 (1990), which expanded the crime of child
pornography to include depiction of children in "lewd
exhibitions" of several private bodily areas; P.A. 86-1329
(1990), which amended the Code of Civil Procedure to remove
provisions that suspended the running of civil statute of
limitations periods on prospective plaintiffs while they were
in prison; P.A. 87-791 (1991), which imposed a $100 additional
fine on persons convicted of a long list of crimes against the
perpetrators' household members, with the proceeds going to the
Domestic Violence Shelter and Service Fund; P.A. 87-933 (1992),
which amended the Code of Civil Procedure to allow public
housing authorities to evict a tenant for seven days based on

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evidence that the rented premises are being used for selling
illegal drugs; P.A. 84-588 (1986), which amended the Election
Code to have all election authorities in the State prepare
reports of votes cast in their jurisdictions and distribute
them to local political parties; P.A. 84-197 (1986), which
amended the Minority and Female Business Enterprise Act to
require the Enterprise Council to act as clearinghouse for
State contracts which minority and female-owned businesses can
bid; P.A. 84-659 (1986), which amended the Election Code to
require that each electronic voting booth be placed in a way
that prevents election judges and poll watchers from observing
casting of ballots; P.A. 84-658 (1986), which amended the
Election Code to allow a write-in candidate to be nominated and
elected without receiving at least as many votes as the
required numbers of petition signatures, if the candidate
received more votes than any other candidate; P.A. 84-966
(1986), which amended the Election Code to allow discovery in
one precinct, if there are fewer than four precincts under the
jurisdiction of the election authority and within the area
where votes may be cast on the petition filed for discovery;
and P.A. 86-786 (1989), which amended acts on Cook County
courts by reducing the number of associate judges and
increasing numbers of circuit and Appellate Court judges; and
WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor was President of
the First Church of Deliverance 300 Voice Radio and T.V. Adult

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Choir for over 20 years; she was also a member of Parkway
Community House, the NAACP, and the Chicago Urban League; and
WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor was preceded in
death by her parents, former State Representative Charles M.
Skyles and Mildred Skyles; her husband, Lawrence "Larry"
"Poppy" Taylor; her siblings, Delores June Daniel, Ruby Elise
King, and Charles M. Skyles II; and her nephew, Steven C.
Green; and
WHEREAS, Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor is survived by her
nieces and nephews, James E. (Alice) Daniel, Wayne K. King,
Shalalia Daniel, Donna Skyles, Rae Lynn (Ernest) Durham, Ruby
Turner, and Charles M. (Verne) Skyles III; her stepdaughter,
Deidre (Anthony) Aleniyi, and her family, Attorney Bianca Brown
and Jovanezer Dikeccha; her stepchildren, Lawrence Jr.,
Kiimberling, Enrico, Yolanda, Brandy, Tondelayo, and Mario;
her in-laws, Margaret Johnson, Robert Taylor, Lillian
(Charles) Wade, Doris Eames, Earlene (Ronnie) Leverette, Earl
(Stephenia) Taylor, and Marion and Candice Taylor; her special
extended family, Lucille Arden, Samuel Thornton, Connie
Tinner, Marian Joyce Randolph, Lauretta (Sweets) Hines,
retired United States Senator Carol Moseley Braun, and Billie
Paige; and the members of the First Church of Deliverance;
therefore, be it

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RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we, along with her family and
friends, mourn the passing of former Illinois State
Representative and State Senator Ethel Skyles
Alexander-Taylor; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to the family of Ethel Skyles Alexander-Taylor as an
expression of our sympathy.