Wyvetter Younge, who represented East St. Louis in the Illinois House since 1975, died Friday at age 78.

She was strong.

Last March, I spoke with her by phone after an armed gunman broke into her house and robbed her.

"I heard this knock on my door," she told me. "I saw this young man, whom I thought was my son, and I opened the door. He pushed the door. He had a gun, and he ordered me to get down on my hands and knees. And then he asked: 'Where's the money?'"

Thankfully, she wasn't injured.

Later, she reportedly said she would pray for the thief who escaped with seven dollars.

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