Political Quotes

“I want to take a few moments to thank a remarkable woman on my staff. Sylvia Gillespie, in my Springfield office, is retiring after 12 years. When you walk into that office in Springfield, Sylvia is the first person you see, and her smile has made thousands of people feel welcome. Her heart is as warm as her smile. Sylvia is from the South Side of Chicago. She likes to say, ``The same as Michelle Obama.'' She went to Austin O. Sexton Elementary School on South Langley Avenue and grew up on the same streets where that infamous street gang, the Blackstone Rangers, made a lot of trouble. But she survived that experience and went on to make a life in the service of others. When she looks back at her life, Sylvia gets a little choked up and she says, how did I go from being that little girl from the ghetto to working for a Senator. Well, the answer is very simple. Sylvia Gillespie cares about other people. She has helped countless people during the 12 years she has worked in my office. From helping people get their passports so they wouldn't miss a family wedding in some foreign country to speaking on behalf of constituents who ran into trouble with Federal agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, Sylvia has been such a positive force in the lives of so many people. The work she is most proud of, and the one thing she will talk to you about, is what she has been working on for the last 2 years--helping families in Illinois stay in their homes.…”