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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, There have been frequent attempts in many states
3 by Native American tribes to appeal to the United States
4 Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs seeking
5 recognized tribal title to land, including in Illinois; and
 
6     WHEREAS, If the United States Department of Interior Bureau
7 of Indian Affairs determines that title to the land in dispute
8 genuinely belongs to a recognized Native American tribe, then
9 that tribe may seek to operate Indian gaming on that land
10 without regard to state law according to the federal Indian
11 Gaming Regulatory Act; and
 
12     WHEREAS, The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requires
13 states to enter into negotiations for a gaming compact with
14 Indian tribes that seek to establish Indian gaming on
15 recognized Indian lands and, if a state refuses to do so, a
16 federal mediator may be appointed to decide the best offer for
17 a tribal-state compact with the Native American tribe being
18 treated as a sovereign nation not under the jurisdiction of any
19 state laws; and
 
20     WHEREAS, Several states have argued that the federal
21 requirement that states must negotiate compacts with Native
22 American tribes is a violation of the states' sovereign
23 immunity under the 11th Amendment to the United States
24 Constitution which says that "the judicial power of the United
25 States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or
26 equity, commenced or prosecuted against on of the United States
27 by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subject of any
28 Foreign State"; and
 
29     WHEREAS, In 1998, the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians of
30 Kansas requested that the Department of Interior Bureau of
31 Indian Affairs review the Band's claim to 1280 acres of land in

 

 

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1 DeKalb County, Illinois, and in 2001 the Department of Interior
2 sent letters to the Illinois Governor and United States Speaker
3 of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, indicating
4 that the Prairie Band may have a credible claim for
5 unextinguished title to this land; and
 
6     WHEREAS, There have been recent revelations that in fact
7 there could be more than one tribe seeking recognized title to
8 the disputed land and any premature discussions on gaming
9 should be avoided until the official tribal title is
10 recognized; and
 
11     WHEREAS, If the Department of Interior Bureau of Indian
12 Affairs does in fact eventually determine that title to the
13 land belongs to any Native American tribe, then negotiations
14 between the Native American tribe and the State of Illinois
15 should become a public forum with open hearings for the purpose
16 of receiving input from local leaders and businesses as well as
17 other interested parties; therefore, be it
 
18     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
19 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Governor of the
20 State of Illinois is strongly encouraged to convene a Joint
21 Committee of the Senate and the House to conduct public
22 hearings prior to agreement of any compact with a Native
23 American tribe for Indian gaming; and be it further
 
24     RESOLVED, That the 8-member Joint Committee shall be
25 appointed 2 each by the leader of each legislative caucus and
26 at least 4 of the appointees shall represent districts that are
27 within 25 miles of the territory proposed for Indian gaming;
28 and be it further
 
29     RESOLVED, That the Joint Committee of the Senate and the
30 House shall be charged with holding a series of public meeting
31 in DeKalb County as well as in other counties that have

 

 

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1 existing gaming facilities located within; and be it further
 
2     RESOLVED, That the purpose of the Joint Committee of the
3 Senate and the House is to evaluate the social and economic
4 impact of Indian gaming on the people of Illinois and to serve
5 the vested State and local public interest in any potential
6 action by the Office of the Governor to establish Indian gaming
7 in the State of Illinois; and be it further
 
8      RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution shall be
9 delivered to the Governor of the State of Illinois.