State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_SJ0062

 
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 1                       SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS,   The State of Illinois,  at  the  time  of  its
 3    acceptance  into  the  Union  in  1818  and  for  a  longtime
 4    thereafter,   practiced   de  facto  slavery  masqueraded  as
 5    "indentured servitude"; the census of 1840 enumerated  slaves
 6    in  Illinois  in  violation  of  the Ordinance of 1787, which
 7    outlawed slavery in the Northwest Territories; and

 8        WHEREAS,  The State of Illinois passed the  infamous  and
 9    unjust Black Laws (1819), otherwise known as the Black Codes,
10    which  were  a  denial  of  human rights designed to cover up
11    slavery and the slave trade within the borders of the  State;
12    and

13        WHEREAS,  The State of Illinois supported the Black Codes
14    for  more  than  forty-six  years  until  they  were  finally
15    repealed; and

16        WHEREAS,  In  the  State  of  Illinois  the  majority  of
17    Illinois    citizens    favored    closing   the   State   to
18    African-American  residents  and  withholding  the  right  of
19    citizenship from  those  African-American  residents  already
20    living in the State; and

21        WHEREAS,  The  State of Illinois passed dehumanizing laws
22    stating that slaves were not persons, but  property,  and  as
23    property  the  ownership of enslaved Africans was to be fully
24    protected by Illinois law; and

25        WHEREAS,  For  many  years,   Black   people,   free   or
26    otherwise,  had  no  legal status as citizens in the State of
27    Illinois; and

28        WHEREAS,  The East St. Louis massacre on July 2, 1917 was
29    the scene of violent attacks on the Black populace; a  bitter
30    and  destructive riot ran on for nearly a week; 312 buildings
31    were destroyed; some  reports  claimed  39  African-Americans
 
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 1    were killed, while another source reported 200 to 300 deaths,
 2    including women and children; and

 3        WHEREAS,  On  August 14 and 15, 1908, a riot broke out in
 4    the State Capital of Springfield; Scott  Burton  was  lynched
 5    during  the  riot  and  Joe James was lynched after the riot;
 6    there were lootings, buildings and property  were  destroyed,
 7    and  Walter Donegan was hung in a tree, his throat slit open,
 8    and his body mutilated; and

 9        WHEREAS,  Chicago faced a riot in the  week  of  July  27
10    through August 2, 1919; one of the country's most violent and
11    racially motivated attacks on Blacks occurred; 38 people were
12    killed,  537  were injured, and 1,000 people found themselves
13    homeless; and

14        WHEREAS,  The  Chicago  Commission  on   Race   Relations
15    rendered  a  full  report  studying  the Black Community (The
16    Negro in Chicago) and ignored studies of the white  offenders
17    and their communities; and

18        WHEREAS,  The racial altercations throughout the State of
19    Illinois during the turbulent decade of the  1960's  resulted
20    in  the  Kerner  Commission  Report,  or  The  Report  of the
21    National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders; and

22        WHEREAS, There is a need for special investigations  into
23    the  unknown  number  of African-Americans killed during race
24    riots in the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

25        RESOLVED, BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-FIRST  GENERAL
26    ASSEMBLY   OF   THE   STATE   OF   ILLINOIS,   THE  HOUSE  OF
27    REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that a special commission,
28    to be known as the Illinois Riot  Commission,  be  formed  to
29    study   historical   events   in   the   State  of  Illinois,
30    particularly those  events  that  resulted  in  the  loss  of
31    African-American  lives  and  property; and that if the study
 
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 1    presented by the Commission warrants a second  commission  be
 2    formed  to  look  into  the  payment  of  reparations  to the
 3    survivors and their descendants; and be it further

 4        RESOLVED, That the Commission be made up of four  members
 5    of  the Illinois Senate, two to be chosen by the President of
 6    the Senate, and two to  be  chosen  by  the  Senate  Minority
 7    Leader;    four    members   of   the   Illinois   House   of
 8    Representatives, two to be  chosen  by  the  Speaker  of  the
 9    House, and two to be chosen by the House Minority Leader; the
10    Executive  Director  of the Illinois Human Rights Commission,
11    or his or her designee, and  the  Director  of  the  Illinois
12    State Historical Society, or his or her designee; all of whom
13    shall  serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for
14    their reasonable and necessary expenses; and be it further

15        RESOLVED, That the Commission shall meet at the  call  of
16    the  President  of the Senate, and shall make a report of its
17    findings to the General Assembly no later  than  January  10,
18    2001,  and  upon making its report shall be dissolved; and be
19    it further

20        RESOLVED, That suitable  copies  of  this  resolution  be
21    delivered  to  the  Executive  Director of the Illinois Human
22    Rights Commission and the  Director  of  the  Illinois  State
23    Historical Society.

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