TRIBUTE TO IZOLA WHITE
WHEREAS, in His Infinite Wisdom, Almighty God has granted Izola White, an outstanding businesswoman and civic leader, eternal rest on April 10, 2018; and
WHEREAS, on November 3, 1922, Izola White started life in Kenton, Tennessee and came to this city in 1940. Prior to opening her iconic soul food restaurant at 522 E. 79th Street, she worked at a soda fountain, as a waitress at a restaurant on the corner of Vernon and Rhodes, and at Vernola's eatery on 61st Street. When she opened in 1957, she was one of the first female black restaurant owners in this city; and
WHEREAS, famous for her biscuits, ham hocks, black-eyed peas, short ribs of beef, pork chops, greens, sweet potatoes, and mac & cheese, as well as brains & eggs for breakfast, Izola White's eatery opened its doors in the 1950's. Throughout the decades, she has fed Count Basie, Pulitzer prize-winning playwright August Wilson, along with cops, judges and politicians such as Mayor Harold Washington, as well as the 44* President of the United States, Barak Obama; and
WHEREAS, Izola White's namesake soul food restaurant was a staple of Chicago's Chatham neighborhood. This iconic landmark offered home-style cooking and a friendly atmosphere until it was forced to close in 2010 when White was diagnosed with dementia and was no longer able to run the business; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Roderick Sawyer, Alderman of the 6"' Ward, has informed this august body of the passing of this prominent and distinguished matriarch of the African American community; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED That we, the Mayor and members of the City of Chicago City Council, gathered together this 18,h Day of April, 2018 AD, do hereby express our sincere sorrow upon learning of the passing of Izola White and extend our deepest sympathy to her family, friends and all those whose lives she has deeply touched.
RODERICK T. SAWYER
Alderman - 6,h Ward
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED That a suitable copy ofthis resolution be prepared and presented to the family of Izola White.