RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Katherine "Kit" Duffy, 71, Chicago's first liaison to the gay snd lesbian communities, under Mayor Harold Washington, died from complications of heart surgery on December 22, 2015; and,
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of her passing by City of Chicago LGBT Caucus; and,
WHEREAS, Katherine was born in 1944 to her loving parents and grew up Funkstown, Maryland; and,
WHEREAS, Mayor Washington appointed Kit in 1984 as the first mayoral liaison to Chicago's gay and lesbian communities and is credited for opening the doors of city government to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals; and,
WHEREAS, Kit was a constant force in the 1980s Chicago gay community, as AIDS started to take its toll, and as the community fought for a civil-rights bill, she was a key link for the community to the mayor, and vice versa; and,
WHEREAS, in 1985, Kit convened Mayor Washington's Committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues, and she became the first executive director of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago; and,
WHEREAS, Kit's work organizing in LGBT communities, beginning in the mid-1980s, led not only to the passage of Chicago's historic 1988 Human Rights Ordinance, but became the foundation for a new LGBTQ movement which led directly to all the political and legislative gains, up to and including full equal marriage; and,
WHEREAS, In 1991, Kit was one of the co-founders of the Illinois Federation for Human Rights now known as Equality Illinois; and,
WHEREAS, Kit was inducted into the City's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2008, in part for her help in securing passage of the 1988 ordinance barring discrimination against gays and lesbians in Chicago; and,
WHEREAS, Kit was always a wealth of knowledge on the City, City history, and the Cook County Democratic Party, invariably knowing the answer or connecting with the person who could address the issue; and,
WHEREAS, Kit was extremely pragmatic with a great sense of humor, she upheld tremendous passion for the everyday Chicagoan and was an incredible Chicago legacy who will be greatly missed; and,
WHEREAS, on Sunday, January 31, a celebration will be held in Lakeview at Sidetrack, so all can remember her lifetime of good ideas, her legacy of major efforts, her mentorship and her intelligence when it comes to those less fortunate - and per Kit's wishes, "no one is to be sad"; and,
WHEREAS, Kit's love of life and her ability to live it to the fullest endeared Kit to her friends and all who knew her, and enabled her to enrich their lives in ways they will never forget; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Mayor and members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this 13th Day of January, 2016, do hereby honor the life and memory of Katherine "Kit" Duffy and extend our heartfelt condolences to her friends; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the friends of Katherine "Kit" Duffy as a sign of our sympathy and good wishes.
