Full Text of SJR0027 98th General Assembly
SJ0027enr 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 27
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The freedom of speech and other rights set forth | 3 | | in the United States Constitution are fundamental to our | 4 | | democracy; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Fair and free elections are essential to democracy | 6 | | and effective self-government; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The United States Constitution, as well as the | 8 | | Bill of Rights and further amendments, are intended to protect | 9 | | the rights of individual human beings ("natural persons"); | 10 | | corporations and other artificial entities are not mentioned in | 11 | | the Constitution and the citizens of this nation have never | 12 | | granted constitutional rights to corporations and other | 13 | | artificial entities; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, In the words of Supreme Court Justice John Paul | 15 | | Stevens, native son of the great State of Illinois, "Money is | 16 | | property; it is not speech" protected by the First Amendment, | 17 | | as stated in Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Gov't PAC , 528 U.S. 377, | 18 | | 398 (2000) (Stevens, J., concurring); and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, The Members of the Illinois General Assembly find | 20 | | a compelling interest in creating a level playing field and | 21 | | ensuring that all citizens, regardless of wealth, have an |
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| 1 | | opportunity to have their political views heard; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Campaign finance laws, including limits on | 3 | | campaign expenditures and contributions from any source, are | 4 | | key tools to combating political corruption; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The Supreme Court, in Buckley v. Valeo , held that | 6 | | the use of money to influence elections is the equivalent of | 7 | | speech and that government cannot constitutionally limit the | 8 | | amount of money that individuals can spend to influence the | 9 | | electoral process; these deeply and dangerously undemocratic | 10 | | precedents were expanded upon in Citizens United v. Federal | 11 | | Election Commission (2010) and SpeechNow.org v. Federal | 12 | | Election Commission (2010 U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit), | 13 | | unleashing a torrent of corporate and private money into our | 14 | | political process that has been unmatched by any campaign | 15 | | expenditures in United States history and drowning out the | 16 | | voices of the ordinary citizens we represent; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, In recent decades, a divided United States Supreme | 18 | | Court has transformed the First Amendment into a powerful tool | 19 | | for corporations and other artificial entities to evade and | 20 | | invalidate democratically enacted reforms; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, In 2012, 73% of Illinois residents, voting on | 22 | | ballot questions similar to the PRAIRIE Resolution, called for |
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| 1 | | a constitutional amendment, transcending party lines and | 2 | | geographic location; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution | 4 | | empowers the people and states of the United States of America | 5 | | to use the constitutional amendment process to correct those | 6 | | egregiously wrong decisions of the United States Supreme Court | 7 | | that go to the heart of our democracy and republican form of | 8 | | government; therefore, be it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 10 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 11 | | CONCURRING HEREIN, that we, as elected representatives of the | 12 | | people, respectfully but emphatically disagree with the | 13 | | aforementioned decisions of the United States Supreme Court and | 14 | | call upon the United States Congress to propose and send to the | 15 | | states for ratification a constitutional amendment to overturn | 16 | | Citizens United v. FEC, SpeechNow.org v. FEC, Buckley v. Valeo , | 17 | | and other related cases that allow for unlimited election | 18 | | spending; and be it further
| 19 | | RESOLVED, That such an amendment should make clear that the | 20 | | rights of persons protected by the Constitution are the rights | 21 | | of natural persons and not those of corporations or other | 22 | | artificial entities; and be it further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That such an amendment should make clear that | 2 | | money can facilitate speech but its use is not, in and of | 3 | | itself, speech within the meaning of the First Amendment, and | 4 | | can be regulated; and be it further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That such an amendment should make clear that | 6 | | corporations and other artificial entities are subject to | 7 | | regulation by the people through the legislative process, so | 8 | | long as the regulations are consistent with the powers of | 9 | | Congress and the states and do not limit freedom of the press; | 10 | | and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That such an amendment should make clear that | 12 | | federal, state, and local governments shall have the power to | 13 | | require disclosure of, limit, and regulate all election | 14 | | contributions and expenditures, whether to candidates or | 15 | | ballot measures, including political contributions and | 16 | | expenditures from individuals, corporations, unions, political | 17 | | committees, other artificial entities, and candidates; and be | 18 | | it further | 19 | | RESOLVED, That we state our belief that such a | 20 | | constitutional amendment supports the goals of the people of | 21 | | Illinois in achieving a level playing field in election | 22 | | expenditures, regardless of their source; and be it further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois congressional delegation is | 2 | | urged to propose a joint resolution offering such an amendment | 3 | | to the United States Constitution and to work diligently to | 4 | | bring such a joint resolution to a vote and passage, including | 5 | | use of discharge petitions, cloture, and every other procedural | 6 | | method to secure a vote and passage; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That the individual Members of the Illinois | 8 | | General Assembly are encouraged to ratify such an amendment to | 9 | | the United States Constitution that is consistent with the | 10 | | policy of the State of Illinois as herein declared; and be it | 11 | | further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That we call upon other states and jurisdictions | 13 | | to join with us in this action by enacting similar resolutions | 14 | | to secure the restoration of constitutional rights and fair | 15 | | elections to the people of Illinois and all citizens of the | 16 | | United States; and be it further | 17 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 18 | | delivered to each member of the Illinois congressional | 19 | | delegation, the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the United | 20 | | States House of Representatives, and the Majority Leader and | 21 | | Minority Leader of the United States Senate.
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