Full Text of HR0101 101st General Assembly
HR0101 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR0101 | | LRB101 10673 MST 55782 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is often regarded as having | 3 | | two distinct regions, the
City of Chicago and downstate | 4 | | Illinois; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Even communities north of Chicago are considered | 6 | | "downstate" because
they have more in common with rural | 7 | | southern and central Illinois counties than they do with the
| 8 | | City of Chicago; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The divide between the City of Chicago and | 10 | | downstate Illinois is frequently
manifested in electoral | 11 | | results such as the 2010 gubernatorial election in which the | 12 | | Democrat
candidate won the election despite only carrying four | 13 | | counties out of 102 counties, and, in fact, did
not need to | 14 | | carry any other counties to win because of the margin of | 15 | | victory in Chicago and
Cook County; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, The City of Chicago is frequently treated as a | 17 | | separate region of the State
and has often been exempted from | 18 | | major legislative initiatives the General Assembly enacts in | 19 | | law
because of this fact; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, The City of Chicago is often bailed out by | 21 | | taxpayers in the rest of the State,
such as the $221 million |
| | | HR0101 | - 2 - | LRB101 10673 MST 55782 r |
|
| 1 | | bailout for the CPS pension system that was signed into law | 2 | | last year; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Numerous counties in the southern and central | 4 | | parts of Illinois are
approving resolutions to become sanctuary | 5 | | counties for gun owners, while the City of Chicago
has some of | 6 | | the strictest gun laws in the country; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The majority of residents in downstate Illinois | 8 | | disagree with City of
Chicago residents on key issues such as | 9 | | gun ownership, abortion, immigration, and other policy
issues; | 10 | | and | 11 | | WHEREAS, The dissension between downstate Illinois and the | 12 | | City of Chicago spans the
nearly 200-year history of the State, | 13 | | and there have been several attempts in the past to
divide | 14 | | Illinois into two states; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, The City of Chicago passed a resolution in 1925 to | 16 | | form the State of
Chicago; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Western Illinoisans declared their region as the | 18 | | "Republic of Forgottonia"; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, In 1981, State Senator Howard Carroll passed a | 20 | | Cook County state split
bill through both chambers of the State |
| | | HR0101 | - 3 - | LRB101 10673 MST 55782 r |
|
| 1 | | Legislature; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, There continue to be organizations pushing for | 3 | | separation between the City
of Chicago and downstate Illinois | 4 | | such as the "Southern Illinois Secession Movement"; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Separation of states continues to be a focus in | 6 | | the news media as there is a
movement in California to divide | 7 | | that state into multiple states; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution of the | 9 | | United States provides in part: "New States may be admitted by | 10 | | Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or | 11 | | erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any | 12 | | State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts | 13 | | of States, without the consent of the Legislatures of the | 14 | | States concerned as well as of the Congress."; therefore, be it
| 15 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 16 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 17 | | we urge the United States Congress to take action to declare | 18 | | the City of Chicago the 51st state of the United States of | 19 | | America and separate it from the rest of Illinois; and be it | 20 | | further
| 21 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be |
| | | HR0101 | - 4 - | LRB101 10673 MST 55782 r |
|
| 1 | | delivered to all Illinois
constitutional officers, the Speaker | 2 | | and Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives,
| 3 | | and the President and Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate.
|
|