Political Quotes

“I rise today to honor an outstanding Illinoisan, Alice Saudargas, and to thank her for her many years of service as she ends her term on the Rockford School Board. Alice Saudargas is a remarkable public servant. She has dedicated her life to working with high-poverty schools and troubled children. Alice and her late husband Alex spent more than 70 years educating students in Rockford, and as she recently said ``we loved every minute of it.'' Alice Christine Nesheim was born in 1916 in northern Illinois to Norwegian immigrants. She graduated first in her high school class and was the first in her family to attend college. She graduated with a degree from DeKalb State Teachers College, which is now Northern Illinois University. While there, she met her husband Alex Saudargas and they moved to Rockford to start a family. Alice raised ten children and supported Alex as he led the basketball team at West High School to two legendary state championships in 1955 and 1956. In those days, Alice could always be seen at West's basketball games, cheering on the team. But Alice wanted to have a personal impact on the lives of Rockford's neediest students. She went back to school and earned her master's degree in education from Northern Illinois University. Alice worked as a special education teacher and eventually became a principal of Elmwood Center, a school for emotionally disturbed children.…”