Record #: R2016-206   
Type: Resolution Status: Adopted
Intro date: 3/16/2016 Current Controlling Legislative Body:
Final action: 3/16/2016
Title: Tribute to late Harper Lee
Sponsors: Burke, Edward M.
Attachments: 1. R2016-206.pdf

RESOLUTION

 

 

WHEREAS, Harper Lee has been called to eternal life by the wisdom of God; and

 

WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of her passing by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and

 

WHEREAS, Born Nelle Harper Lee in 1926, Harper Lee was raised in Monroeville, Alabama, one of four children of Frances and Amasa Lee, a newspaper  editor  and  lawyer  who  served  in  the  Alabama State e     Legislature; and

 

WHEREAS, After graduating from high school, Harper Lee attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa; and

 

WHEREAS, In 1949 Harper Lee moved to New York City where she supported herself writing fiction while working as an airline reservation agent; and

 

WHEREAS, Harper Lee wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which was published in 1960 and became an enduring classic of American literature; and

 

WHEREAS, Loosely based on her childhood observations of racist attitudes in the Deep South, To Kill a Mockingbird was made into an Oscar-winning movie starring Gregory Peck; and

 

WHEREAS, As a recognized luminary of the literary world, Harper Lee later accompanied her childhood friend, Truman Capote, to Holcomb, Kansas, to research his 1966 non-fiction book In Cold Blood; and

 

WHEREAS, A recipient of numerous honorary degrees, Harper Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007 recognizing her contribution to literature; and

 

WHEREAS, In 2015 Harper Lee released the sequel of To Kill A Mockingbird entitled Go Set a Watchman; and

 

WHEREAS, The hard work, sacrifice and dedication of Harper Lee serve as an example to all; and

 

 

WHEREAS, Harper Lee was an individual of great integrity and accomplishment who will be dearly missed and fondly remembered by her many relatives, friends and admirers; and

 

WHEREAS, To her beloved family, Harper Lee imparts a legacy of faithfulness, service and dignity; now, therefore

 

BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this sixteenth day of March, 2016, do hereby commemorate Harper Lee for her grace-filled life and do hereby express our condolences to her family; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Harper Lee.

Alderman - 14th Ward