Bill Text: IL SR1199 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mourns the passing of Elizabeth "Betty" Balanoff Ph.D.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2020-05-24 - Resolution Adopted [SR1199 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SR1199-Introduced.html

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SR1199 LRB101 21558 LAW 72464 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
learn of the death of Elizabeth "Betty" Balanoff Ph.D., who
passed away on May 28, 2019 at the age of 92; and
WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff was born in Salisbury, Missouri to
Adelaide and Harold Brummall on July 8, 1926; she studied
biology at the University of Missouri before moving to Chicago
to further pursue her studies; she married James Balanoff Jr.
in 1947; she earned her master's in history from Roosevelt
University in Chicago in 1964; she earned her Ph.D. in history
from the University of Chicago in 1974; she lived in Gary and
Hammond, Indiana for most of her adult life; and
WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff began a long career at Roosevelt
University in 1966, starting as an adjunct instructor before
moving to a full-time position as an assistant professor; she
participated in a faculty exchange, lecturing at trade union
colleges in Moscow and Leningrad, Russia in 1976; she was
promoted to full professor in 1981; for 25 years, she taught
American history to generations of students; she was a pioneer
in the teaching of African American history, Native American
history, women's history, immigration history, and labor
history; she also taught the first courses at Roosevelt
University in the history of childhood and the family; her

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class in labor history was the first open to undergraduates at
a Chicago university; she retired in 1991 and was named
professor emeritus in 1993; and
WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff's lasting legacy to Roosevelt
University centered around the Labor Oral History Project,
which she directed from 1970 to 1985; she conducted and
transcribed interviews with over 70 labor union leaders and
rank-and-file members in the Chicago area; her project has
become a valuable resource that is among the most requested
items in the Roosevelt University archives; and
WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff was a social and environmental
activist throughout her life; she successfully assisted
Richard Hatcher's mayoral campaign in Gary, Indiana in 1968,
making him the first elected black mayor of a major U.S. city;
she co-founded the Coalition for a Clean Environment in
Northwest Indiana; she was a leader of the Northwest Indiana
Residents for Clean Air; she also served on the Hammond Public
Library Board for seven years; and
WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff received a number of accolades; she
had a teaching award named in her honor by Roosevelt University
in 1991, which recognizes a distinguished professor each year;
her efforts towards the Labor Oral History Project were
recognized by the Working Women's History Project in 1997 and

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by the Illinois Labor History Society; she was honored for her
advocacy by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the
Environmental Protection Agency in 2007; and
WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff was known as a kind, generous, and
accomplished teacher; she will be remembered as someone who
never lost her heart or patience and remained steadfast in her
convictions; and
WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff's expertise and passion for the
organized labor movement was shared by her family; her husband
James was the president of the largest United Steelworkers
local in the country, which was Local 1010 based in East
Chicago, Indiana; their son Tom is the president of Service
Employees International Union Illinois Council and the vice
president of its International Executive Board, as well as the
president of SEIU Local 1, which represents 50,000 property
service workers in Chicago and 10 other cities across the
Midwest; and
WHEREAS, Betty Balanoff was preceded in death by her
husband of 53 years, James Balanoff Jr.; her parents; and her
sister, Helen Donner; and
WHEREAS, At the time of her death, Betty Balanoff was
survived by her four children, James (Rebecca) Balanoff III,

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Thomas (Hetty) Balanoff, Joseph (Betty) Balanoff, and
Katherine (James) Robinson; her seven grandchildren; her nine
great-grandchildren; and her numerous nieces and nephews;
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
Elizabeth "Betty" Balanoff Ph.D. and extend our sincere
condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved
her; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to the family of Betty Balanoff as an expression of
our deepest sympathy.