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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE LIFE OF LAQUAN MCDONALD
WHEREAS, on October 20, 2014, the life of LaQuan McDonald, an African American teenager, was cut short in an untimely manner; and,
WHEREAS, LaQuan McDonald is remembered by those close to him as a fundamentally good child who suffered setbacks early in his life through no fault of his own; and,
WHEREAS, LaQuan McDonald was confronted with more than his share of life's obstacles, having been removed from the custody of his biological parents at an early age and placed in the protective custody of the State of Illinois as a child; and,
WHEREAS, by all accounts, LaQuan McDonald, a resident of the West Side of Chicago and the 1st District of Cook County, was working hard to turn his life around; and,
WHEREAS, over the summer of 2014 LaQuan McDonald successfully held down a job; and,
WHEREAS, at the time of his death LaQuan McDonald was attending school and succeeding academically; and,
WHEREAS, LaQuan McDonald was a young man with potential; and,
WHEREAS, LaQuan McDonald's struggles, progress, and his fight to reclaim his future are emblematic of the same struggles faced by so many of the poorest, most vulnerable citizens of Cook County; and,
WHEREAS, it is the poorest, most vulnerable citizens of Cook County for whom County government exists to provide a safety net; and,
WHEREAS, it is fitting that this body should pause to take recognition of LaQuan McDonald's struggles, LaQuan McDonald's progress, and the single, overriding and incontrovertible truth that LaQuan McDonald's life mattered;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners that the deepest sorrow and condolences of this body are extended to the family, friends and community of LaQuan McDonald.
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