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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The people of Illinois seek to uphold the values
3that make the United States and the State of Illinois great,
4those of freedom, justice, and equal treatment under the law
5for all, and all civil liberties enshrined in the United States
6and Illinois Constitutions; and
 
7    WHEREAS, It is most appropriate and necessary to
8commemorate those incredible individuals who have defended
9civil liberties and resisted oppression within our Nation; and
 
10    WHEREAS, An assault on civil liberties was launched on
11February 19, 1942 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed
12Executive Order No. 9066, authorizing the internment of all
13people of Japanese descent in the United States; under the
14order, those of Japanese ancestry, many American citizens, were
15subject to a curfew and ordered to submit to imprisonment and
16placed in American internment camps without trial, access to
17legal counsel, or notice of any criminal charges; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Fred T. Korematsu of Oakland, California,
19valiantly refused to comply with these directives in an
20admirable display of civil disobedience and continued to
21proudly live his life as a free American citizen; Fred
22Korematsu was subsequently arrested and tried for refusing to

 

 

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1comply with Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34, which was
2authorized by Executive Order No. 9066, and sent to Topaz
3internment camp in Utah; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu, in a selfless act of sacrifice,
5agreed to be the representative for those wrongfully
6imprisoned, and appealed his case with the help of Earnest
7Besig of the American Civil Liberties Union; the case was heard
8by the United States Supreme Court; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The Supreme Court upheld the decision to imprison
10Fred Korematsu in a 6-3 ruling, as well as the
11constitutionality of discrimination against a racial group as
12justified under conditions of war; that decision remains a
13scourge upon civil liberties and American values of equal
14protection; the conviction of Fred Korematsu was overturned via
15a writ of error corum nobis on November 10, 1983 by the United
16States District Court of Northern California; the Supreme Court
17decision has yet to be challenged; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu and his legal team appealed to
19overturn his conviction inspiring the Civil Liberties Act of
201988, which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan
21which formally apologized to those wrongfully incarcerated
22under Executive Order No. 9066, and acknowledged the order was
23issued because of "racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a

 

 

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1failure of political leadership"; Fred Korematsu was later
2awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill
3Clinton, the highest honor awarded to a civilian who has
4admirably served the interests of the Nation; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu continued throughout his life to
6raise his voice for the voiceless and defend the defenseless in
7solidarity with those denied civil liberties, including
8speaking out against the solitary confinement of an American
9Muslim man in a United States military prison without trial;
10and
 
11    WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu passed away on March 30, 2005;
12today, the Fred Korematsu Institute works to educate people
13about his life story and the importance of civil liberties; the
14institute also aims to promote awareness of Fred Korematsu by
15observing his birthdate, January 30, as Fred T. Korematsu Day
16of Civil Liberties and the Constitution by schools, the general
17public, and state and federal legislators; therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
19HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE
20CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate January 30, 2017 Fred T.
21Korematsu Day in the State of Illinois, in honor of the man and
22his courageous efforts; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That we honor the legacy of Fred Korematsu, his
2institute, and his children, who work so diligently to educate
3the public, by encouraging schools and institutes of higher
4learning throughout the State of Illinois to incorporate the
5story of Fred Korematsu and his valiant stand for American
6values of justice into their curriculum; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
8presented to the Illinois Department of Education, and each
9Illinois state university.