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File #: 26-1016    Version: 1 Name: HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF KITTY KNECHT
Type: Consent Calendar Resolution Status: Agenda Ready
File created: 3/10/2026 In control: Board of Commissioners
On agenda: 3/12/2026 Final action:
Title: PROPOSED RESOLUTION HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF KITTY KNECHT WHEREAS, Kitty Knecht was born May 19, 1953, in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in nearby Glendale; and WHEREAS, she graduated from Northwestern University in 1975 and later received a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, she returned to Chicago in 1982 to do marketing research for the Quaker Oats Corporation; and WHEREAS, for 16 years, Ms. Knecht served as Board Chair of Marketplace: Handiwork of India, a fair-trade non-profit organization increasing economic opportunities for women artisans of India through the marketing of their handiwork; and WHEREAS, Ms. Knecht joined Indivisible Evanston in 2017, where she advocated to protect voting rights, immigrant rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, to promote gender and racial equity and to oppose the rising tide of authoritarianism. Since 2020, she tirelessly served on the Leadership Team; and WHEREAS, Ms. Knecht was a vibrant and passionate commu...
Sponsors: JOSINA MORITA
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PROPOSED RESOLUTION

HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF KITTY KNECHT

WHEREAS, Kitty Knecht was born May 19, 1953, in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in nearby Glendale; and

WHEREAS, she graduated from Northwestern University in 1975 and later received a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, she returned to Chicago in 1982 to do marketing research for the Quaker Oats Corporation; and

WHEREAS, for 16 years, Ms. Knecht served as Board Chair of Marketplace: Handiwork of India, a fair-trade non-profit organization increasing economic opportunities for women artisans of India through the marketing of their handiwork; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Knecht joined Indivisible Evanston in 2017, where she advocated to protect voting rights, immigrant rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, to promote gender and racial equity and to oppose the rising tide of authoritarianism. Since 2020, she tirelessly served on the Leadership Team; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Knecht was a vibrant and passionate community activist who touched so many with her generous spirit; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Knecht was a best friend and devoted wife to her husband of 43 years, Raymond H. Dye, Jr., a professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Loyola University Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Knecht is survived by her daughters Caitlyn Dye, Amanda Dye, her son-in-law Rodolfo Sanchez Sarracino, and her grandson Nico, and will be lovingly remembered by her sister Carolyn Knecht and brother Joseph Knecht, her sister-in-law Anne Chipman, her brother-in-law David Dye, and her stepmother Sherrin Ashcraft; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Cook County Commissioner Josina Morita, on behalf of the residents of Cook County, does hereby honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Kitty Knecht; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Kitty Knecht, a symbol of our respect, admiration, and heartfelt condolences.

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