WHEREAS, on August 25, 2019, Sister Rosemary Connelly, RSM, and will observe seventy years as a Religious Sister of Mercy and fifty years as Executive Director of Misericordia Home, a community of care, hope and inspiration, maximizing the potential for children and adults with developmental and physical disabilities; and
WHEREAS, Misericordia Home, founded in 1921, provides residential options and educational and social programs to more than 600 children and adults from diverse backgrounds and wide economic strata on its thirty-one-acre North Side campus; and
WHEREAS, in the belief that human dignity is the key to quality life, Sister Rosemary Connelly has profoundly changed and improved the standards of care for the developmentally disabled community; and
WHEREAS, Misericordia Home's mission is dedicated to the principle that each peison should be encouraged to achieve his or her maximum through educational, vocational, spiritual, and recreational programs; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago has been informed of her great milestone by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, born in Chicago, Sister Rosemary Connelly attended Catholic schools and taught in several Archdiocese of Chicago schools; and
WHEREAS, in 1959 Sister Rosemary Connelly earned a Bachelor of Science degree in social science from Saint Xavier University; and
WHEREAS, she subsequently earned her Master of Arts Degree in sociology from Saint Louis University in 1966 and a Master's Degree in social work from Loyola University Chicago in 1969; and
WHEREAS, Sister Rosemary Connelly was appointed Administrator of Misericordia
Heart of Mercy in August 1969 at a time when the institution only accepted children under the
age of six; and
WHEREAS, the first seven years of Sister Rosemary Connelly's tenure were spent on Chicago's South Side, where Misericordia Home was originally located; and
WHEREAS, in the winter of 1976, following the announced closure of the Angel Guardian Orphanage at 6300 Ridge Avenue in Chicago, Sister Rosemary Connelly negotiated with the Archdiocese a transfer of the campus to the North Side with the proviso that Misericordia Home would assume responsibility for new construction and plant operations; and
WHEREAS, Sister Rosemary Connelly moved thirty-five staff members and thirty-nine children who did not require the high levels of nursing services to the newly established North Campus that over time added The Heart of Mercy Village and the Brian and Sue Shannon Apartment Building providing for the residential needs of adults with moderate disabilities; and
WHEREAS, recognizing a critical need to establish substantive programming, goals, and aspirations for the residential population, Sister Rosemary Connelly put an ambitious plan of action to address these inadequacies into practice by building classrooms for primary education and establishing many worthy programs inclusive of self-help skills, speech and physical therapy, and recreational activities; and
WHEREAS, under Sister Rosemary Connelly's inspired leadership and guiding hand Misericordia Home greatly expanded its residential housing options over a twenty-year period, adding The McGowan Residence home and the Holbroolc Residence for people with physical and mental disabilities; and
WHEREAS, in 2001, the Sister Rosemary/Connelly Homes, accommodating thirty-six children and young adults opened; and
WHEREAS, furthering the mission and vision of championing inclusion through participation and charted by Sister Rosemary Connelly, Misericordia added seven additional homes in the adjoining community: the Hulseman-Murphy Home, the Farrow Home, the McAllister Home, the Walsh Home, the Houlihan Home, the Maxwell Home and the Eisenberg Home; and
WHEREAS, with continuing expansion of Misericordia Home facilities and greatly enhanced therapeutic programs in the second decade of the new Millennium, 600 children and adult residents, and residents with mild to moderate disabilities are living meaningful and productive lives along wilh two-hundred additional people who attend various programs; and
WHEREAS, today, Misericordia Home's campus includes over twenty residences and buildings and thirteen Community Integrated Living Arrangements (CILAs) in the neighborhood that house more than seventy-eight high-functioning adults; and
WHEREAS, Misericordia Home now has an aging population, so the Quinlan Terrace was built to meet this population's needs; and
WHEREAS, recognizing that the key to achieving long-term fiscal sustainability to support programming, Sister Rosemary Connelly, a unifying force for good, understood that Misericordia Home could not relying solely on public and governmental support to care for its residents; and
WHEREAS, Sister Rosemary Connelly built a broad base of private support tlirough donor participation with the endorsement and encouragement of business and political leaders and celebrities from the world of entertainment and sports; and
WHEREAS, Sister Rosemary Connelly's inspired leadership, humanity and passionate commitment encompassing seven decades, has been integral to establishing Misericordia Home as one of the nation's premier treatment and residential communities for children and adults with intellectual and developmental differences; and
WHEREAS, in 20J 4, Chicago Magazine named Sister Rosemary Connelly, a "2014 Chicagoan of the Year;" and
WHEREAS, in 2013, Marquette University bestowed upon Sister Rosemary Connelly the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa; and
WHEREAS, Sister Rosemary Connelly has also received seven other honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Notre Dame, Loyola University, Chicago, DePaul University, Lewis University, Saint Xavier University, Dominican University and St. Mary's at Notre Dame; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this twentieth day of May, 2019 do hereby commend Sister Rosemary Connelly for her faith, grace and humanity, through a lifetime of service and inspired devotion, and wish her all the best as she continues with her mission; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that in recognition of Sister Rosemary Connelly's life and work spanning seventy years of advocacy, spiritual support and social welfare, we bestow upon her Chicago's highest honor, the Medal of Merit; and
Alderman Edward M. Burke Alderman-14* Ward
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Sister Rosemary Connelly as a sign of our respect and good wishes. +
^ J^^^^^A^rt Vasquez / AWe4man-401h Ward