RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF OCTOBER 5, 2017
Title
RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners recognizing William Yoshino for his years of service to the community
Body
WHEREAS, Bill Yoshino was hired as Midwest Regional Director of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) in 1978; and
WHEREAS, in his work with the JACL, Bill was devoted to the effort to seek a remedy for the Japanese Internment during World War II; and
WHEREAS, Bill was instrumental in organizing grassroots letter writing and lobbying campaigns to members of Congress for legislation to establish the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians and to pass Civil Liberties Act of 1988; and
WHEREAS, when the Commission held one of its hearings in Chicago, Bill worked to identify
and prepare witnesses to testify; and
WHEREAS, in the 1990s, Bill worked with the Office of Redress Administration to assist in contacting individuals who were eligible to receive redress payments; and
WHEREAS, Bill is a respected leader in JACL’s efforts to combat anti-Asian sentiment through stronger hate crime legislation and anti-defamation initiatives; and
WHEREAS, Bill testified before the U.S. Senate on the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1988, has produced a semi-annual newsletter on hate crimes and hate incidents and has conducted hate crime workshops at college conferences; and
WHEREAS, locally, Bill has represented the Asian American community on the Illinois Asian American Advisory Council to the Governor, the Chicago Asian American Advisory Committee, the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, and the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes; and
WHEREAS, Bill supported and expanded JACL’s youth and leadership programs by organizing teacher training workshops through grants from the National Park Service and the National Endowment for the Humanities, revising and updating the JACL curriculum guide, and producing educational materials on Japanese American internment and Asian Pacific Islander history. He also established the JACL Collegiate Washington, DC Leadership Program and has provided fellowship opportunities to college graduates; and
WHEREAS, Bill has insured the continued success of the Japanese American Citizens League through his dedicated work to develop young leaders; and
WHEREAS, Bill’s commitment to honor and address history and his work to educate the public on hate crimes to prevent future injustices has made a major impact on generations of citizens; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and staff, hereby recognize William Yoshino for his years of dedicated service to the community; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, and a copy of same, suitably embossed, be presented to William Yoshino.
Dated: October 5, 2017
Approved: MARIYANA T. SPYROPOULOS, President; BARBARA J. MCGOWAN, Vice President; FRANK AVILA, Chairman, Committee on Finance; TIMOTHY BRADFORD; MARTIN J. DURKAN; JOSINA MORITA; DEBRA SHORE; KARI K. STEELE; DAVID J. WALSH; Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Approved as to Form and Legality: Susan T. Morakalis, Acting General Counsel, STM:aw