OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
CITY OF CHICAGO
RAHM EMANUEL
MAYOR
April 10,2013
TO THE HONORABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I transmit herewith, together with Alderman Burke, a resolution honoring the life and memory of Justice Mary Ann McMorrow.
Your favorable consideration of this resolution will be appreciated.
Mayor
Very truly yours,
A Resolution
adopted by The City Council
of the City of Chicago, Illinois
APRIL 10, 2013
Presented by ALDERMAN EDWARD M. BURKE and MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL on
WHEREAS, The Members of this Chamber
mourn the death of Justice Mary Ann McMorrow, a profoundly important figure in our legal community, who passed away on February 23, 2013; and
WHEREAS, Born Mary Ann Grohwin in Chicago, Justice McMorrow grew up during the Great Depression in a house near Addison Street and Central Park Avenue; and
WHEREAS, Justice McMorrow graduated from Immaculata High School in Uptown, followed by Rosary College (now Dominican University) in River Forest, and then Loyola University School of Law, where she was the only woman in her graduating class, and served as Class President and Associate Editor of the Law Review; and
WHEREAS, After a short stint in private practice. Justice McMorrow made her first foray into the public sector in 1954 with her appointment as an Assistant State's Attorney, becoming the first women to prosecute felony cases in Cook County; and
WHEREAS, In 1963, Justice McMorrow and her husband Emmett, a Chicago Police officer, celebrated the birth of their daughter, Mary Ann; and
WHEREAS, After more than ten years of private practice out of her home, Justice McMorrow successfully ran for judicial office in 1976, winning a seat on the Circuit Court of Cook County; and
WHEREAS, Recognizing her tireless and distinguished service as a trial judge, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed Justice McMorrow to the Appellate Court in 1985; and
WHEREAS, In 1992, after seven years on the Appellate Court, Justice McMorrow became the first woman to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court in its 173-year history, and, with her ascension to the position of Chief Justice in 2002, became the first woman to head any branch of the Illinois government; and
WHEREAS, Justice McMorrow retired from the bench in 2006 a revered and highly decorated figure, whose myriad well-deserved honors included the Medal of Excellence Award from the Loyola University School of Law Alumni Association, the Fellows of the Illinois Bar Foundation Award for Distinguished Service to Law and Society, Chicago Lawyer Magazine's Person of the Year, the American Bar Association's Margaret Brent Award, and, perhaps most fittingly, the Women's Bar Association of lllinois's Myra Bradwell Woman of Achievement Award, which is named after the first woman admitted to the Illinois Bar; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this tenth day of April, 2013, do hereby celebrate the remarkable life of Justice McMorrow and offer our heartfelt condolences to her family; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Justice McMorrow as a token of our sympathy and good wishes.
MAYOR