[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18879]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING FRAN ROEHM

                                  _____
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 12, 2014

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Frances ``Fran'' 
Roehm, a librarian extraordinaire at the Skokie Public Library in my 
district who is retiring after 18 years of remarkable service to our 
community.
  Fran graduated from the University of Illinois and received a 
Bachelor's degree in History. As a single mom, she was awarded a 
scholarship from the then Secretary of State Jim Edgar. This 
scholarship allowed Fran to return to school and earn her Master's 
Degree in Library of Sciences, also from the University of Illinois.
  Fran Roehm has worked as the Skokie Net Librarian and Community 
Liaison with distinction and has guided consumers to resources in the 
community. Fran is a leader in the library community who works hard to 
bring the best resources to patrons at the Skokie Public Library. She 
shines a bright light on our community and the rich resources available 
at the Skokie Library. Her compassion and leadership inspire the people 
around her to advocate for others.
  She was nominated by State Senate President John Cullerton to serve 
on the ``Eliminate the Digital Divide Committee'' and has proudly 
served on that committee, which distributed $4,000,000 in grants to 
organizations that serve low-income populations. This important grant 
program seeks to provide access to computers, telecommunications 
technologies and related training to disadvantaged communities--a major 
interest of Fran.
  Fran also offered a wonderful form of outreach to my office. She 
realized that the library would be a perfect location for neighborhood 
office hours and from there, we began bringing our constituent services 
to the Skokie Library in the evenings, once a month, for constituents 
who cannot meet with our staff during the day for help. This service 
also allows the public to become more civically engaged. In addition, 
Fran helped make our annual Artistic Discovery high school art event, 
which we hold every year at the Skokie library, an extremely successful 
and welcoming event. Fran is masterful at putting resources and people 
together. She has been a great advocate and ally to our office.
  Fran is the proud mother of son, Christopher, who lives in California 
and a proud grandmother to 5-year-old Twyla. Fran is a warm, kind, 
generous person who has touched and enriched countless lives.
  I join others in the Skokie area and in Illinois in offering my deep 
gratitude and appreciation of Fran's decades of work and lifelong 
commitment to providing equal access to community resources. Although 
she is leaving the Skokie Library, she will remain a leader in our 
community advocating for the underserved. I wish her well and ask this 
body to do the same.

                          ____________________