Governor Jim Doyle signed bill for Jeannetta Simpson-Robinson highway last week in Madison.

In a ceremony held last Wednesday in the Governor’s personal office quarters, Gov. Doyle put his pen to a bill authored by state Sen. Spencer Coggs that designates a portion of Interstate 43 in Milwaukee as the “Jeannetta Simpson-Robinson Memorial Highway.”

The bill signing took place in the Governor’s stately personal office at the Capitol building while Mrs. Robinson’s son, Charles “Butch” Walton, her grandchildren, other family members and Sen. Coggs stood by the Governor’s side.

“Gov. Doyle’s invitation to join him in what is normally a private setting is a clear indication about the importance of this memorial,” Sen. Coggs said.

Following the ceremony, Gov. Doyle presented those in attendance with the pens he used to sign the bill into law. The pens bear his signature.

Mrs. Robinson died two years ago at the age of 68. She and her mother, Claretta “Mother Freedom” Simpson founded Career Youth Development (CYD) in 1970 as an after-school program at their house. The idea struck a chord in the community and, over the course of 40 years, CYD grew to offer youth gang intervention programs, college courses, vocational training, drug abuse prevention and treatment, family counseling, Children’s Court Advocacy, and mental health services.

Sen. Coggs noted that “The motto of CYD is ‘Love in Action,’ and there is no more fitting description of the tireless and selfless good deeds done by Mrs. Robinson throughout her life.

The Governor’s signature on the bill officially designates I-43 in Milwaukee from the North Avenue exit traveling north to the Keefe Avenue- Atkinson Avenue exit as the “Jeannetta Simpson-Robinson Memorial Highway.”

“By placing her name in positions of prominence in the heart of the community, Mrs. Robinson’s great good works will serve as a lasting example and an inspiration for generations to come,” Sen. Coggs said.

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