Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn Leads Hull House Celebration In Honor of Jane Addams Day

(CHICAGO) - On Thursday, June 15, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn celebrated the creation of Jane Addams Day, Illinois' first commemorative holiday honoring a woman, with schoolchildren, legislators, authors, educators and civic leaders at Hull House Museum in Chicago.

 

"In 1931, Jane Addams brought honor to Illinois by winning the first Nobel Peace Prize ever awarded to an American woman," Quinn said.  "Now, 75 years later, the State of Illinois is honoring her memory with Jane Addams Day, to remind us of her lifelong commitment to making the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois - and the entire world - a better place."

           

            The new commemorative holiday, an initiative of Lt. Gov. Quinn, was sponsored by Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) and Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago).  Their legislative efforts supported a civics education project by students at Dongola School, in Union County in far southern Illinois.  The students traveled to Springfield to urge the creation of a state holiday honoring Jane Addams and her work. HB 5243, the bill naming Dec. 10 as Jane Addams Day, was signed into law by Governor Blagojevich last month. 

 

"Over the past year, Jane Addams' legacy has inspired a new generation to serve others and their community," Quinn told a crowd of about 100 people gathered in the historic Hull House dining room. "This celebration brings these young student activists together with representatives from a host of organizations founded by Jane Addams, from the business leaders of the Civic Federation to the civil rights activists of the NAACP and the ACLU. "

 

The Jane Addams Day celebration was held at Hull House Museum, on the campus of University of Illinois at Chicago.  The Museum, housed in two of the original Hull House buildings, educates thousands of people each year about Jane Addams' historic commitment to social justice, government reform, and civil rights.