Post by title1parent on Jun 24, 2010 6:54:38 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2427150,6_1_NA24_COWLISHAW_S1-100624.article
A champion of education
Former state Rep. Mary Lou Cowlishaw dies
June 24, 2010 Sun
By Kathy Millen and Kathy Cichon kmillen@stmedianetwork.com kcichon@stmedianetwork.com
When Mayor A. George Pradel was a police officer, he'd often stop by The Naperville Sun office, then in downtown Naperville, to visit with writer Mary Lou Cowlishaw.
Sitting on the edge of her desk, he'd ask her what was going on in town.
Cowlishaw never disappointed. She knew many people in town and kept up with the local news.
"I go way back when Mary Lou was working at The Naperville Sun," Pradel said. "I used to love to go in and enjoy a story about what was happening. She'd say 'do you know so and so? Let me tell you what he's doing.' She was a great storyteller."
Cowlishaw, who went on to represent the Naperville area in the Illinois General Assembly for 20 years, died Wednesday at Edward Hospital. She was 78.
Cowlishaw grew up in Rockford, where she was valedictorian of her graduating class at West Rockford High School. She majored in journalism at the University of Illinois and did post-graduate work at Northwestern University. She also received several honorary degrees.
She came to Naperville in 1958. For more than five years she worked as a feature writer for the Naperville Sun, winning a first-place award from the Illinois Press Association for investigative reporting for a series about substandard conditions at a local nursing home.
Naperville Sun viewpoint editor Tim West said Cowlishaw was a valued employee and public servant.
"During the years Mary Lou worked with us, she was always hardworking and industrious, but approached her stories with a lot of good humor," he said. "During her public career she was a very important person in town and she will be missed."
Cowlishaw began writing about the Naperville Municipal Band for The Sun in 1979 and 1980, said band conductor Ron Keller.
"Every week she zeroed in on a little different topic in the band's history and how it related to Naperville's sesquicentennial," he said. "... It was a really good thing because it brought attention to the band," Keller said.
With Keller's mother, Dorothy, she compiled the stories into the book "This Band's Been Here Quite a Spell ... 1859-1981." The book is catalogued in the Library of Congress.
She served on the District 203 Board of Education from 1972-1983. Tom Bursh, who served on the school board with Cowlishaw, called her a true friend.
"I was fortunate enough to have served on many committees and organizations along with Mary Lou, and her love for education in our state came through time and time again whenever and wherever the subject arose," he said. "We've lost a real friend of education."
In 1982, Cowlishaw successfully ran as a Republican for the Illinois General Assembly. She served from 1983 to 2003. At the time of her death she was an adjunct professor of education at North Central College.
Through the years she received many honors and awards. One of the most special came in 1997 when Indian Prairie School District 204 named an elementary school after her, said Wayne Cowlishaw, her husband of 55 years.
"Being in education, that was her main focus, to assist kids in their education," he said. "She strongly believed in Thomas Jefferson's idea that to be a successful democracy you have to have an educated electorate, and she was trying to do her part."
When Indian Prairie District 204 was looking to name a new school in 1996, the board picked Cowlishaw from the five finalists.
"She had won all manner of state and national awards," longtime District 204 board member Mark Metzger said. "And it was time to honor her here as well."
Metzger, who was board president at the time, remembers calling her to give her the news.
"She at first thought we were playing a joke on her," Metzger said.
Before the school's dedication in October 1997, Cowlishaw told The Sun it was still hard to accept the building would be named after her.
"I thought they named schools for people like Abraham Lincoln and the nation's greatest heroes," she said at the time. "But now they've named one for such an ordinary person."
At least once a year she would convene a gathering of both District 203 and 204 school boards, the Naperville Park District's Board of Commissioners and all members of the General Assembly whose areas included any portion of Naperville.
U.S. Representative Judy Biggert, R-Hinsdale, a colleague of Cowlishaw's in Springfield, called her a true inspiration.
"Mary Lou was larger than life with an outgoing, animated personality that was endearing," she said in a press release. "I remember with great fondness the time we spent in Springfield working together on legislation to improve the state's education system and ensure that homeless children could attend school. Her 20-year service in the state Legislature was filled with many victories as she advocated passionately for school children and fought hard for the priorities of her district. I can say with great certainty that Mary Lou Cowlishaw will be remembered as a legendary public servant and a dear, dear friend."
One of the major pieces of legislation championed by Cowlishaw was the Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act, also known as Charlie's Bill, which allowed homeless children to stay in school.
Diane Nilan, an advocate for homeless families and founder of HEAR US, called Cowlishaw a compassionate champion of homeless children.
"What she did to pave the way for homeless kids to get an education is among the many things that is her legacy," Nilan said. "That is the one that always impressed me. She never stopped working for that cause. She had a sense of vision and integrity that is uncommon in politics."
Cowlishaw was one of the sponsors of the legislation that established the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora. IMSA issued a statement Wednesday, mourning the loss of "an early champion and steadfast supporter."
In the statement IMSA President Glenn W. "Max" McGee said the state has lost one of its greatest voices and champions for educational change and innovation.
"As a state representative highly respected for her commitment and advocacy to educational issues, Mary Lou Cowlishaw was an extremely influential and effective proponent of IMSA's programs and services," McGee said. "She believed in our mission and championed innovative approaches to advancing teaching and learning throughout Illinois."
State Sen. Kirk Dillard recalled when the new legislative map was drawn to include part of Naperville in his district. He received a phone call from Cowlishaw, who told him "you're going to spend a couple of weeks with me, and I'm going to introduce you to everybody you need to know."
Dillard said she was one of the nicest people he ever met in Springfield or in government.
"On issues of Naperville or education, no one spoke with a louder or more respected voice than Mary Lou in the state capital," Dillard said. "She was really the education go-to, suburban representative for a couple of decades in Springfield."
A champion of education
Former state Rep. Mary Lou Cowlishaw dies
June 24, 2010 Sun
By Kathy Millen and Kathy Cichon kmillen@stmedianetwork.com kcichon@stmedianetwork.com
When Mayor A. George Pradel was a police officer, he'd often stop by The Naperville Sun office, then in downtown Naperville, to visit with writer Mary Lou Cowlishaw.
Sitting on the edge of her desk, he'd ask her what was going on in town.
Cowlishaw never disappointed. She knew many people in town and kept up with the local news.
"I go way back when Mary Lou was working at The Naperville Sun," Pradel said. "I used to love to go in and enjoy a story about what was happening. She'd say 'do you know so and so? Let me tell you what he's doing.' She was a great storyteller."
Cowlishaw, who went on to represent the Naperville area in the Illinois General Assembly for 20 years, died Wednesday at Edward Hospital. She was 78.
Cowlishaw grew up in Rockford, where she was valedictorian of her graduating class at West Rockford High School. She majored in journalism at the University of Illinois and did post-graduate work at Northwestern University. She also received several honorary degrees.
She came to Naperville in 1958. For more than five years she worked as a feature writer for the Naperville Sun, winning a first-place award from the Illinois Press Association for investigative reporting for a series about substandard conditions at a local nursing home.
Naperville Sun viewpoint editor Tim West said Cowlishaw was a valued employee and public servant.
"During the years Mary Lou worked with us, she was always hardworking and industrious, but approached her stories with a lot of good humor," he said. "During her public career she was a very important person in town and she will be missed."
Cowlishaw began writing about the Naperville Municipal Band for The Sun in 1979 and 1980, said band conductor Ron Keller.
"Every week she zeroed in on a little different topic in the band's history and how it related to Naperville's sesquicentennial," he said. "... It was a really good thing because it brought attention to the band," Keller said.
With Keller's mother, Dorothy, she compiled the stories into the book "This Band's Been Here Quite a Spell ... 1859-1981." The book is catalogued in the Library of Congress.
She served on the District 203 Board of Education from 1972-1983. Tom Bursh, who served on the school board with Cowlishaw, called her a true friend.
"I was fortunate enough to have served on many committees and organizations along with Mary Lou, and her love for education in our state came through time and time again whenever and wherever the subject arose," he said. "We've lost a real friend of education."
In 1982, Cowlishaw successfully ran as a Republican for the Illinois General Assembly. She served from 1983 to 2003. At the time of her death she was an adjunct professor of education at North Central College.
Through the years she received many honors and awards. One of the most special came in 1997 when Indian Prairie School District 204 named an elementary school after her, said Wayne Cowlishaw, her husband of 55 years.
"Being in education, that was her main focus, to assist kids in their education," he said. "She strongly believed in Thomas Jefferson's idea that to be a successful democracy you have to have an educated electorate, and she was trying to do her part."
When Indian Prairie District 204 was looking to name a new school in 1996, the board picked Cowlishaw from the five finalists.
"She had won all manner of state and national awards," longtime District 204 board member Mark Metzger said. "And it was time to honor her here as well."
Metzger, who was board president at the time, remembers calling her to give her the news.
"She at first thought we were playing a joke on her," Metzger said.
Before the school's dedication in October 1997, Cowlishaw told The Sun it was still hard to accept the building would be named after her.
"I thought they named schools for people like Abraham Lincoln and the nation's greatest heroes," she said at the time. "But now they've named one for such an ordinary person."
At least once a year she would convene a gathering of both District 203 and 204 school boards, the Naperville Park District's Board of Commissioners and all members of the General Assembly whose areas included any portion of Naperville.
U.S. Representative Judy Biggert, R-Hinsdale, a colleague of Cowlishaw's in Springfield, called her a true inspiration.
"Mary Lou was larger than life with an outgoing, animated personality that was endearing," she said in a press release. "I remember with great fondness the time we spent in Springfield working together on legislation to improve the state's education system and ensure that homeless children could attend school. Her 20-year service in the state Legislature was filled with many victories as she advocated passionately for school children and fought hard for the priorities of her district. I can say with great certainty that Mary Lou Cowlishaw will be remembered as a legendary public servant and a dear, dear friend."
One of the major pieces of legislation championed by Cowlishaw was the Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act, also known as Charlie's Bill, which allowed homeless children to stay in school.
Diane Nilan, an advocate for homeless families and founder of HEAR US, called Cowlishaw a compassionate champion of homeless children.
"What she did to pave the way for homeless kids to get an education is among the many things that is her legacy," Nilan said. "That is the one that always impressed me. She never stopped working for that cause. She had a sense of vision and integrity that is uncommon in politics."
Cowlishaw was one of the sponsors of the legislation that established the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora. IMSA issued a statement Wednesday, mourning the loss of "an early champion and steadfast supporter."
In the statement IMSA President Glenn W. "Max" McGee said the state has lost one of its greatest voices and champions for educational change and innovation.
"As a state representative highly respected for her commitment and advocacy to educational issues, Mary Lou Cowlishaw was an extremely influential and effective proponent of IMSA's programs and services," McGee said. "She believed in our mission and championed innovative approaches to advancing teaching and learning throughout Illinois."
State Sen. Kirk Dillard recalled when the new legislative map was drawn to include part of Naperville in his district. He received a phone call from Cowlishaw, who told him "you're going to spend a couple of weeks with me, and I'm going to introduce you to everybody you need to know."
Dillard said she was one of the nicest people he ever met in Springfield or in government.
"On issues of Naperville or education, no one spoke with a louder or more respected voice than Mary Lou in the state capital," Dillard said. "She was really the education go-to, suburban representative for a couple of decades in Springfield."