Bill Text: IL SR1536 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Mourns the death of Thomas James Broderick.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-04-12 - Resolution Adopted [SR1536 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-SR1536-Introduced.html

---

SR1536 LRB100 18059 MST 35718 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
learn of the death of Thomas James "Tom" Broderick of Oak Park,
who passed away on November 25, 2017 at the age of 65; and
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick was born in Washington, D.C. on
March 17, 1952; and
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick spent many summers as a child in New
York with his Uncle Byron, enjoying the museums and bookstores
of Manhattan and the beach at Fire Island; as an adult, no trip
to New York was complete without a visit to his favorite
bookstore, Printed Matter; and
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick was raised in a family that
emphasized social justice, education, diversity, and a love of
culture, all of which influenced him greatly during the course
of his life; and
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick developed a lifelong interest in
politics as a young man; he was proud of the photograph of
himself, aged 10, when his mother took him to hear Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington; in the photo, Tom
holds a sign that seemed to guide his life which read, "We Are
Marching for Freedom, Ours and Yours"; and

SR1536 - 2 - LRB100 18059 MST 35718 r
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick and a friend left the country after
high school in order to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam
War; they traveled extensively through Africa "with little more
than lint in their pockets"; and
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick also traveled to Mexico, living in
small villages with families and collecting art, embroideries,
and weavings, which were still on the walls of his apartment
many years later; and
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick's interest in photography drew him
to Columbia College Chicago in the 1970s, and later to the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he created and
collected artist books; and
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick began his career in printing as a
"stripper", which he enjoyed telling people with a mischievous
grin, and stayed in printing for the rest of his work life; and
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick did not just talk about justice, he
showed up to support justice; whoever said that showing up was
80% of life had Tom in mind; he showed up for death row visits,
board meetings, fundraisers, informational gatherings, and
celebrations; and

SR1536 - 3 - LRB100 18059 MST 35718 r
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick worked tirelessly, creatively, and
joyfully on a wide range of progressive issues and causes; his
particular and strongest interests were the abolition of the
death penalty, working people's rights to organize and live
with dignity, and reproductive justice; and
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick's involvements in progressive
causes are almost too numerous to mention; he served on the
board of the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty in
its final years before abolition in 2011; he supported striking
and low-wage workers during a 10-year strike at Chicago's
Congress Hotel; on the day he died, he escorted clients at a
downtown family planning clinic as a volunteer for the Illinois
Choice Action Team; and
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick helped organize the Oak Park
Coalition for Truth and Justice and the Democratic Socialists
of America multi-year campaign to get the Oak Park Village
Board to pass a living wage ordinance; the nine-year campaign
finally reached fruition in combination with the Fight for $15
efforts when the village board voted not to opt out of Cook
County's Living Wage Ordinance in 2017; and
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick was frequently published in the
Wednesday Journal's "One View" and letters to the editor, as
well as in the Chicago Sun-Times; and

SR1536 - 4 - LRB100 18059 MST 35718 r
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick is remembered for his love of
cooking, his hours-long dinner parties, and his love of having
time around the table with good food, drink, friends, music and
conversation; he had a "free and energetic approach to life",
being known as irreverent, for speaking his truth and for
letting the good times roll; and
WHEREAS, Tom Broderick is survived by his son, Byron
Broderick, and his former wife, Diane Scott; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
Thomas James "Tom" Broderick, and extend our sincere
condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
him; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to the family of Tom Broderick, as an expression of
our deepest sympathy.