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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
JOANNE E. TRAPANI, IN MEMORIAM
WHEREAS, Almighty God in His infinite wisdom called Joanne E. Trapani from our midst on November 29, 2020; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani was the loving wife of Mary Becker; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani, born in Corona, Queens, New York on August 5, 1949, was the beloved daughter of the late Joseph Trapani and Mary Horvath Trapani; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani was the dear sister of Dolores Delape; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani was the adored aunt and great-aunt of many; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani received her bachelor's and two master's degrees from New York University and spent a number of years working on Wall Street at various financial institutions; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani began her LGBT activism shortly before the Stonewall Riots in 1969. She was a member of New York City's Gay Activist Alliance, Mattachine Society board of director's member, Lesbian Feminist Liberation founding member, and Manhattan Women's Political Caucus member; and
WHEREAS, after a decade of New York City political activism, Joanne Trapani relocated to Illinois and co-chaired the Illinois Gay and Lesbian Task Force for several terms, served as liaison to state and local governments and agencies, and was involved in HIV/AIDS advocacy; and
WHEREAS, in 1997, Joanne Trapani won a seat on the Oak Park village board, becoming the first out lesbian elected to office in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, in 2001, Joanne Trapani was elected Oak Park village president and served a four-year term; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani worked for the Cook County Commission on Human Rights at the outset of that office's creation in 1993 until she retired in 2011, and served as liaison to and an advocate for the lesbian and gay communities of Cook County; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani organized testimony for and lobbied in behalf of the Illinois Human Rights Amendment to include lesbians and gays as a protected class; she also worked for passage of the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance and the Oak Park Human Rights Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani was a member of the Chicago Police Department Gay and Lesbian Advisory Council, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Hate Crimes Prosecution Council, the Democratic Party Affirmative Action Commission, and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Lesbian and Gay Advisory Council; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani conducted lesbian and gay sensitivity training for the Chicago Police Department, the Oak Park Police Department, the Cook County Sheriff’s Police and Court Services, the Cook County Forest Preserve Police Department, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, and various other suburban police departments; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani’s other organizational affiliations included Dignity-Chicago, the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Community Center, and the Oak Park Lesbian and Gay Association; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani won Gay Chicago Magazine’s Woman of the Year Award, Dignity-Chicago’s John Michie Award, IMPACT’s Alongi Award for Political Activism, and was inducted into Chicago's LGBT Hall of Fame in 1993; and
WHEREAS, in retirement, Joanne Trapani was chosen to represent Cook County’s 9th District on the Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues, where she volunteered for many years; and
WHEREAS, Joanne Trapani was also chair of the Elmwood Park Board of Fire and Police Commissioners; and
WHEREAS, in addition to her activism and accomplishments, Joanne Trapani will be remembered for her dynamic personality-her intelligence, passion, heart, and so much more.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby offer its deepest condolences and most heartfelt sympathy to the family of Joanne Trapani; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this text be spread upon the official proceedings of this Honorable Body, and a suitable copy of the same be tendered to the family of Joanne Trapani so that her memory may be so honored and ever cherished.
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