Bill Text: IL SR1294 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Mourns the passing of Lori J. Wilcox-Knight.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-11-13 - Resolution Adopted [SR1294 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SR1294-Introduced.html

---

SR1294 LRB103 43162 LAW 76424 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
to learn of the death of Lori J. Wilcox-Knight; and
WHEREAS, Lori Wilcox-Knight, born in 1976, received a
Bachelor of Arts from Western Illinois University, an
ABA-Approved, Post-Bachelor Paralegal Certificate from
Roosevelt University Chicago, and a Master of Education from
American Intercontinental University, and she was pursuing a
Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Liberty
University; she was a Certified, Registered, and Master
Municipal Clerk; and
WHEREAS, Lori Wilcox-Knight was a combat war veteran; she
joined the U.S. Army in 1993 at the age of 17, and her tenure
included being stationed in Germany, Japan, Korea, and Austria
and participating in Operation Joint Guard in Bosnia from 1997
to 1998; during her time in the military, she served as an
administrative specialist, a postal operations sergeant, and a
reserve hospital unit administrator until 2005; and
WHEREAS, Lori Wilcox-Knight made history when she was
first elected City Clerk of the City of Chicago Heights in
2011, and she completed and retired from her third term in May
2023; she won a historic election as committeeman of Bloom

SR1294 - 2 - LRB103 43162 LAW 76424 r
Township Democrats in March 2018, becoming the second woman
and youngest person to hold that position; she was the former
co-chair of the Cook County Democratic Party's Outreach
Committee; she also served as a member of Governor JB Pritzker
and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton's 2018 Veterans Transition
Team, and she later served as a member of Secretary of State
Alex Giannoulias' 2023 Library Transition Team; during her
tenure in public life, she was known for supporting, engaging,
educating, and empowering women candidates, helping over 10
women become judges and many others to join, to gain, and to
grow in the political arena; and
WHEREAS, Lori Wilcox-Knight worked as a business
development and executive leadership coach from November 2022
to November 2023, incorporating reading, writing, and
volunteering to help senior level executives and healthcare
professionals transition into entrepreneurship; she aspired to
become a children's mental health counselor; and
WHEREAS, Lori Wilcox-Knight had been a member of Rotary
International since 2011, where she held the positions of
assistant governor, for which she was named Assistant Governor
of the Year, president of the Chicago Heights-Park Forest
Rotary Club, and international convention chairperson for
Rotary District 6450's visit to Korea; she also hosted three
Friendship Exchange delegations from Nigeria in 2017, 2022,

SR1294 - 3 - LRB103 43162 LAW 76424 r
and 2023, and she hosted a Friendship Delegation for a
Vanderbilt University Fellow from Thailand; and
WHEREAS, Lori Wilcox-Knight volunteered at her youngest
son's junior high school, Cornerstone Christian School,
providing mentoring, capacity building, and a food pantry and
serving as a volunteer resource officer; she also volunteered
at a local nursing home, providing spiritual care, and she was
an active minister in the church; she sat on the boards of
multiple non-profits; and
WHEREAS, Lori Wilcox-Knight was the recipient of numerous
accolades, including receiving the Illinois Women in
Leadership Public Fellowship in 2015 and being selected by the
Chicago Defender as one of the 50 Women of Excellence in 2016;
and
WHEREAS, Lori Wilcox-Knight was a mother, daughter,
sister, and friend who was passionate about supporting
initiatives involving veterans, women in business, cancer
survivors, and small private schools; and
WHEREAS, Lori Wilcox-Knight is survived by her children,
Taylor, Frankie, and Lorenz; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL

SR1294 - 4 - LRB103 43162 LAW 76424 r
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
Lori J. Wilcox-Knight and extend our sincere condolences to
her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it
further