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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
IN MEMORY OF JEAN ROLFING CLELAND
WHEREAS, Jean Rolfing Cleland, a woman whose life was devoted to social justice, family, and faith, died September 19 in her Wilmette home; and
WHEREAS, For nearly five decades, the citizens of Cook County were the beneficiary of the tireless efforts of Jean Cleland. She was an indefatigable advocate for affordable housing and social justice; and
WHEREAS, Jean Cleland's remarkable contributions to the County of Cook resulted in her being honored with the 2005 Unsung Heroine Award for Illinois' 13th District from the Cook County Commission on Women's Issues; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Cleland graduated from Northwestern University in 1944 with a bachelor's degree in English, and a year later was married, settling in Wilmette in 1950 with her husband, Robert; and
WHEREAS, A passionate crusader for fair and affordable housing, Jean Cleland was a founder in the 1950s and '60s of the Wilmette Human Relations Committee and the North Shore Summer Project, an organization that worked to end housing discrimination; and
WHEREAS, Jean Rolfing Cleland, whose social activism ranged from fighting for the rights of migrant workers to protesting against the Vietnam War, made open housing the focus of her volunteer efforts; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Cleland organized the Wilmette Human Relations Committee, through which she held vigils of protest against the North Shore Real Estate Board and individual real estate agents who were known to follow discriminatory practices; and
WHEREAS, As a member of Wilmette's First Congregational Church for 54 years she challenged the congregation to oppose the Vietnam War and to support civil rights and nuclear disarmament; and
WHEREAS, A founding board member of the North Shore Interfaith Housing Council now called Open Communities, Cleland was on its board for over 30 years. She was also a board member of the Housing Opportunity Development Corporation in Wilmette for more than ...
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