Bill Text: IL SR2067 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of Valda A. "Val" Camilletti of Cicero.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-11-15 - Resolution Adopted [SR2067 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-SR2067-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | ||||||
3 | learn of the death of Valda A. "Val" Camilletti of Cicero, who | ||||||
4 | passed away on July 24, 2018 at the age of 78; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Val Camilletti was born to Italian immigrants | ||||||
6 | Norma Mary and Quinto Camilletti and spoke Italian before | ||||||
7 | English; her father was a factory worker who came from Perugia, | ||||||
8 | Italy on a boat named after the opera composer, Guiseppe Verdi; | ||||||
9 | she grew up on the West Side of Chicago in the Austin | ||||||
10 | neighborhood and graduated from Austin High School; she then | ||||||
11 | moved to Oak Park before settling in Cicero; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Three days after graduating from high school, Val | ||||||
13 | Camilletti began her career at Continental Bank; in 1962, she | ||||||
14 | accepted a job at Capitol Records and worked in their Chicago | ||||||
15 | offices on Michigan Avenue; her duties included promoting | ||||||
16 | records, working with radio stations, and organizing sock hops; | ||||||
17 | in 1967, she moved to NMC Discount Records, where she managed | ||||||
18 | various stores; when they went out of business in 1972, she | ||||||
19 | took over the Oak Park shop on Ridgeland Avenue; the store | ||||||
20 | eventually moved to 723 1/2 South Boulevard and became "Val's | ||||||
21 | halla Records"; and
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22 | WHEREAS, Val Camilletti described her store as "a unique |
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1 | musical landscape" filled with thousands of 45s, LPs, | ||||||
2 | cassettes, and CDs in every conceivable music category; "Val's | ||||||
3 | halla" was the place to go for music lovers from all | ||||||
4 | generations and walks of life; her regular customers, including | ||||||
5 | the late actor John Mahoney of Oak Park, stayed loyal even | ||||||
6 | through the music industry's dramatic change to digital | ||||||
7 | technology; the store also included a shrine to Elvis for those | ||||||
8 | who felt the need to pay their respects; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Val Camilletti was involved in the folk scene in | ||||||
10 | the 1950s and early 1960s and was friends with American country | ||||||
11 | folk singers and songwriters John Prine and Steve Goodman; they | ||||||
12 | later visited her store and shared their latest music with her | ||||||
13 | and her patrons; her knowledge of music was encyclopedic and | ||||||
14 | ran the gamut from classical to folk, choral to hip hop to | ||||||
15 | opera and everything in between; her storytelling abilities | ||||||
16 | were wide ranging, which made frequenting her establishment | ||||||
17 | more than a shopping experience; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Throughout her nearly 46 years in business, Val | ||||||
19 | Camilletti shaped thousands of lives through her passion for | ||||||
20 | music; she was a great curator of music and promoter of | ||||||
21 | musicians, including those who lived in her neighborhood; her | ||||||
22 | enthusiasm for all things music and everything having to do | ||||||
23 | with community was infectious; she welcomed musicians, | ||||||
24 | especially high school students, to play in her shop; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Val Camilletti was lovingly referred to as the | ||||||
2 | community therapist and was known for her loyalty and magnetic | ||||||
3 | energy; she was someone people came to for advice or a shoulder | ||||||
4 | to cry on; she was simultaneously demanding, hilarious, | ||||||
5 | generous, passionate, charming, and boisterous; she had | ||||||
6 | lifelong customers and employees who saw her as a friend and | ||||||
7 | mentor, not a boss; she employed generations of kids who worked | ||||||
8 | their first jobs at "Val's halla" and became part of her | ||||||
9 | family; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Val Camilletti was in charge of the music during | ||||||
11 | the May Madness street fests on Oak Park Avenue during the | ||||||
12 | 1990s and early 2000s; she emceed the Church of Beethoven | ||||||
13 | concerts at Open Door Theatre, spearheaded the annual | ||||||
14 | "hallaPalooza" sale and music fest, where many came in from | ||||||
15 | around the country to visit and volunteer, and penned a regular | ||||||
16 | entertainment column and blog for the "Wednesday Journal"; and
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17 | WHEREAS, In 2006, Val Camilletti moved "Val's halla" to 39 | ||||||
18 | Harrison Street in the Oak Park Arts District; she was an arts | ||||||
19 | district champion and became a vital member and later vice | ||||||
20 | president of the Oak Park Arts District Business Association; | ||||||
21 | and
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22 | WHEREAS, Val Camilletti loved animals and was a huge |
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1 | advocate for the Animal Care League for many years and emceed | ||||||
2 | their annual auction; she loved golf and played at Columbus | ||||||
3 | Park; she was also a morning regular at George's Restaurant in | ||||||
4 | Oak Park; she was among the most recognized faces in Oak Park | ||||||
5 | and was an institution and vibrant presence in the village for | ||||||
6 | nearly 50 years; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Val Camilletti was preceded in death by her white | ||||||
8 | German Shepherd, Halla; her yellow Lab mix, Loki; and her cat, | ||||||
9 | Woden; her record store was, for many years, the daytime lounge | ||||||
10 | for her Norse-named pals; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Val Camilletti is survived by her cat, Soot; and | ||||||
12 | her many friends who miss her terribly and declare she will | ||||||
13 | never be forgotten; therefore, be it
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14 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | ||||||
15 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
16 | Valda A. "Val" Camilletti and extend our sincere condolences to | ||||||
17 | her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it | ||||||
18 | further
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19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
20 | presented to the family of Val Camilletti as an expression of | ||||||
21 | our deepest sympathy.
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