Laurenti, Luellen
Luellen Laurenti was born in West Virginia in 1939, the daughter of Steve Watson and Alice Counts. She attended Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio and the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois where she earned a master’s degree in foreign languages. Luellen married Joseph L. Laurenti in 1967 and joined the Illinois State University faculty where she taught Spanish and women’s studies.
Soon after settling in Normal, Illinois, Luellen began to participate in efforts to promote women’s rights. She joined and later led the local chapter of the National Organization of Women (NOW) in their efforts to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in Illinois. Laurenti worked tirelessly to organize local meetings and rallies in support of the ERA in Illinois.
On April 9, 1975, Luellen was among 100 other local supporters who rallied for the ERA with thousands of other Illinois supporters in Springfield. The following October, Luellen kicked off a drive to get 10,000 McLean signatures in support of the ERA with a rally at Bloomington’s Wesley United Methodist Church. She pressed the legislative measure, which had already passed in the Illinois House.
“It is time for the Senate to join the House and carry out the wishes of the majority by ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment this year.”
— Luellen Laurenti, Bloomington
Undeterred, Luellen joined the Women’s Political Caucus, whose goal was to elect legislators who would vote for the passage of the ERA. She became the 44th district coordinator for ERA Central, a statewide group supporting ratification of the ERA, and later the legislative coordinator of the McLean County chapter of NOW. Her dedication to these efforts resulted in her election as president of the Illinois branch of NOW.
Luellen was also the executive director of the International Women’s Year Conference in 1977. Hosted at Illinois State University, an estimated 1,300 women attended and participated in workshops that explored such topics as leadership skills, the legal status of women, employment opportunities, sexual discrimination in education, women and politics, crisis in childcare, finance and credit, and more. The conference also featured speakers, films, and discussion panels.
On May 10, 1980, Luellen was among more than 100 McLean County residents who participated in the Chicago national ERA march.
Pro-ERA supporters breathed a sigh of relief in the fall of 1978 when the United States Congress extended the deadline for ratification of the ERA to June 1982. Unfortunately, even with the extension, Congress was unable to get the legislation passed.
Luellen worked as a Democratic Central Committee woman for the 15th Congressional District from 1984 to 1998. In 1988 she worked in Springfield as a lobbyist for Illinois NOW, the America Association of University Women (AAUW), and the Governor’s commission on the Status of Women in Illinois.
At the time of her death in 2000, The Pantagraph proclaimed her a “tireless worker for women’s equality. She dedicated herself to legislative and electoral issues to advance the status of women and create opportunities for the next generation of women.”