[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 1062]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING CARDISS COLLINS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, I want to pay tribute to an 
exceptional, Illinoisan who passed away this weekend.
  Congresswoman Cardiss Collins served my State and the city of Chicago 
with distinction for more than two decades, and I was honored to have 
served with her in the House.
  Representative Collins did not plan for a political life. She was an 
accountant and a mother. But when her husband, Congressman George 
Collins, died in a place crash, Cardiss was convinced to run in a 
special election to succeed him. And she won, becoming the first 
African American woman elected to Congress from Illinois.
  When she arrived in Washington, she learned the job quickly and 
became a leader on a variety of issues--from women's rights, to 
children's rights, to healthcare. Her colleagues quickly recognized her 
leadership qualities. After just a few terms, they elected her 
chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. She also soon became the 
first African American woman to be elected Democratic Majority Whip At-
Large.
  I am glad that I had the chance to get to know Cardiss Collins. I--
and countless Illinoisans--will remember her fighting spirit, her 
conviction in what was right and, of course, her sense of humor.
  In 1993, a newly elected Illinois Senator by the name of Carol 
Moseley-Braun had decided--along with Senator Barbara Mikulski--to do 
something no woman had ever done on the Senate floor: wear pants, 
instead of a dress or skirt. At the time, women were actually 
prohibited by the Senate rules from wearing trousers. And these 
Senators' decision ruffled a few feathers around here.
  Well, this didn't sit right with Congresswoman Collins, and she had 
something to say about it. What she said was, ``They shouldn't be 
concerned about the dress code, unless the men Senators start wearing 
dresses.''
  Soon after, the Senate amended its rules.
  Congresswoman Collins played a part in tearing down that barrier, 
just as she did for so many other barriers and inequalities for women 
and minorities across the country. That is the kind of person she was: 
a fighter.
  I will close by simply acknowledging all the good she did, both here 
in Congress and back home in Chicago, fighting the good fight. 
Congresswoman Cardiss Collins will be missed.

                          ____________________