IL SR1263

Marion Louise "Penny" Sullivan Smith passed away on September 15, 2021, at age 88.

Born in Chicago's Bronzeville area on September 15, 1933, to Roosevelt Pluitt and Ethel Sullivan; graduated from DuSable High School.

Her grandmother Carrie Williams filed the first U.S. lawsuit for equal pay rights of colored school teachers in 1898, with the case ruled in her favor by the West Virginia Supreme Court during the Jim Crow Era; President Barack Obama acknowledged this legacy in a letter to the family.

Preceded in death by seven siblings and three children; survived by four children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and extended family.

Senate Resolution mourns her passing and extends condolences to her family and loved ones.