[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 35 (Tuesday, March 12, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S1705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING YVONNE RICE

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I rise with sadness today to pay my 
respects and pay tribute to a dedicated public servant and a close 
friend whom I have known for decades.
  For 12 years, when Illinoisans walked into Senator Alan Dixon's 
office--and then later into Senator Paul Simon's office--there was a 
pretty good chance that they would be greeted by the friendly, warm 
smile of Yvonne Rice.
  She would work with them to solve whatever problems they may have had 
or to make sure they got the help they needed.
  Thanks to her efforts, more often than not those Illinoisans walked 
away happy--and with one less thing to worry about.
  But her service to her community wasn't limited by the walls of a 
Senate office. She worked in the Illinois State government for many 
years before joining the Dixon team and then working with Senator 
Simon.
  She also broke new ground when she became the first African-American 
nominated by a major party for county-wide office in Sangamon County--
the capital county of my home State.
  Yvonne truly was a remarkable, wonderful, and spirited woman.
  She will be dearly missed by her children, stepchildren, grandkids, 
great-grandkids and all of those--including my wife Loretta and 
myself--who were fortunate enough to know her.

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