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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the administration and
4staff of the Citizen Advocacy Center in Elmhurst on the
5occasion of the organization's 20th anniversary; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center is an award-winning,
7non-profit, non-partisan free community legal organization;
8the Center was founded in 1993 by Therese Amato, who served as
9the Center's first executive director for 8 years and currently
10serves as Board President; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center seeks to build
12democracy for the 21st century by strengthening the citizenry's
13capacities, resources, and institutions for self-governance;
14to do so, the Center seeks to increase democratic protocols at
15every level of government and develop the voice of the public
16through efforts that start at the local level and become
17State-wide initiatives to address anti-democratic barriers
18rooted in State law; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center operates through the
20use of community lawyers who protect the public's assets and
21promote meaningful participation in the democratic process; as
22an institution made of community lawyers, the Center engages in

 

 

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1a multi-faceted approach to building democracy through
2community organizing, coalition building, legal advocacy,
3civic education, and litigation to make government more
4accountable, accessible, and transparent; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center makes itself open for
6the public to obtain free civic resource materials, ask
7questions of the Center's community lawyers on matters of
8public concern, engage in civic discussion, learn about local
9issues, attend training workshops, and develop skills for
10participating in civic affairs; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center is committed to making
12government more accountable to the people by developing and
13empowering the voice of citizens; promoting individual and
14community efforts to resolve contemporary societal problems
15involving the health, safety, and general well-being of the
16communities of the western and far western suburbs of Chicago;
17furthering the public knowledge and understanding of
18democratic tools and how they can be employed for societal
19problem solving; stimulating citizen awareness of and
20involvement in the community; helping citizens to act on issues
21of public significance; litigating on behalf of select citizen
22causes to sustain access to justice; and monitoring local
23government to insure accountability and to deter officials from
24acting contrary to the general interest of the community; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center engages local
2communities through numerous public initiatives, including the
3Civic Empowerment Zone, the Center's youth civic education
4program; the Center's community lawyers have worked with
5journalists on Open Meetings Act, Freedom of Information Act,
6and First Amendment issues; the Center has also launched a
7Midwest Open Government Project, a comprehensive study of the
8Freedom of Information and Open Meetings Acts in Illinois,
9Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, among many other
10initiatives; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The administration and staff of the Citizen
12Advocacy Center serve as models of hard work, integrity, and
13dedication for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore,
14be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
16NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
17we congratulate the administration and staff of the Citizen
18Advocacy Center on the occasion of the organization's 20th
19anniversary and wish them continued success and happiness in
20the future; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22presented to the Citizen Advocacy Center as a symbol of our

 

 

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1esteem and respect.