Volume 155, No. 89 covering the 1st Session of the 111th Congress (2009 - 2010) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“MOURNING PASSING OF JUDGE SANDRA OTAKA” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1421 on June 15, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
MOURNING PASSING OF JUDGE SANDRA OTAKA
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HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA
of california
in the house of representatives
Monday, June 15, 2009
Mr. HONDA. Madam Speaker, l rise today to mourn the passing of Judge Sandra Otaka, who died of natural causes at the age of 57 on the 6th of June, 2009. As the first Asian-American to be elected judge in Cook County, and the second in Illinois, she was a strong advocate for the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
Born in California as a sansei, or third-generation Japanese American, she was a politically active young woman. She campaigned against the Vietnam War before enrolling as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley at the age of 28. During her time at Berkeley, Otaka worked to overturn the conviction of Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American who was arrested in 1942 for not reporting to his designated assembly center for internment. Her fight for justice and equal opportunity continued during law school, where she protested the university's plan to scale back its affirmative action program. After graduating, Otaka moved to Chicago to work for a commercial law firm and later as counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
After a racist comment by a Cook County Circuit Court Judge, Otaka, as co-chair of the judiciary committee of the Asian American Bar Association, led the effort to have him removed. She succeeded, with the judge failing to win the sixty percent of the vote required for retention.
In 2000, Sandra Otaka was appointed to the Cook County Circuit Court, and in 2002, she was reelected--the first Asian American judge in Cook County to do so.
Judge Otaka is remembered for her continual fight for the Asian American community and as an advocate for diversity on the bench. She is survived by her sister, Susan Smith, and her nephew, Jeffery, who she raised as her own after her brother's death.
In closing, Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in mourning the passing of Sandra Otaka. She is truly deserving of our respect and admiration.
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