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OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
CITY OF CHICAGO
RAHM EMANUEL
MAYOR
June 25,2014
TO THE HONORABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I transmit herewith, together with Alderman Mitts, a resolution honoring the life and memory of Betty Howard.
Your favorable consideration of this resolution will be appreciated.
Mayor
Very truly yours,
H resolution
adopud by Tlie Gity Gouncil ofthe Gity of Gkicago, Illinois
ALDERMAN EMMA MITTS
presented by MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL on JUNE 25, 2014
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^QllCTBClS ' Tne Members of this Chamber mourn the death of Dr. Betty Howard, the beloved head of the special education department at Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy, who, on the afternoon of May 29, 2014, became one of the latest victims of the scourge of firearm violence; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Howard's death was almost inconceivably senseless. She had stopped for just a moment at the real estate office where she held a second job to drop off some paperwork, and was chatting with co-workers when an apparently gang-related dispute erupted on the street outside. Shots were fired, and a stray bullet tore through the office's exterior wall, striking Dr. Howard in the head; and
WHEREAS, This tragic incident deprived the City not only of an educator of unsurpassed talent and dedication, but also a beautiful human being; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Betty Howard, who grew up in Englewood, was the wife of Reverend Major Howard of New Light Holiness Church, the mother of two sons, the grandmother of two, and the sister of Chicago Police Officer Orlando Long; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Howard valued education from a young age, graduating from Chicago State University, where she was an active member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and going on to earn her doctorate; and
WHEREAS, In her seven years as a special education teacher at Brooks College Prep, Dr. Howard would travel to homes to teach disabled students, and even ride school buses when school aides were absent, going far above and beyond her formal responsibilities to help some of the City's most challenged youth; and
WHEREAS, On top of her teaching career and work in real estate, the tireless Dr. Howard somehow made the time to work as a case manager at her church and to organize a tutoring program; and
WHEREAS, The depth of this tragedy was perhaps best expressed by D'Andre Weaver, the principal at Brooks College Prep, who described Dr. Howard's death as "indescribably difficult" for the school, and lamented that the school's "entire staff, students, and parents are deeply saddened by the unexpected, untimely, and unwarranted loss of our friend, teacher, and colleague. Her love for all children, but particularly children with diverse learning needs, was second to none;" now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this twenty-fifth day of June, 2014, do hereby celebrate the life of Dr. Betty Howard and offer our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, colleagues, and students; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Dr. Howard as a token of our sympathy and good wishes.
MAYOR
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CITY CLERK