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| 1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Illinois has debated and adopted four state | ||||||
| 3 | constitutions since its founding,
the original 1818 document, | ||||||
| 4 | one in 1848, one in 1870, and one in 1970; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Illinois citizens and elected officials have come | ||||||
| 6 | together to discuss the future of the
Land of Lincoln in six | ||||||
| 7 | constitutional conventions in 1818, 1846, 1860, 1868, 1918, and | ||||||
| 8 | 1968; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Forty-nine years have passed since the last | ||||||
| 10 | constitutional convention was called,
resulting in the | ||||||
| 11 | current, 1970 Illinois Constitution; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Subsection (b) of Section 1 of Article XIV of the | ||||||
| 13 | Illinois Constitution provides that
if the question of whether | ||||||
| 14 | a State Constitutional Convention should be called is not | ||||||
| 15 | submitted
ruing any 20-year period, the Secretary of State | ||||||
| 16 | shall submit that question at the general
election in the 20th | ||||||
| 17 | year following the last submission; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, The question of whether a State Constitutional | ||||||
| 19 | Convention should be called was
placed before the voters on the | ||||||
| 20 | general election ballot on November 4, 2008; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Since November 4, 2008, more than 400 resolutions | ||||||
| 2 | have been submitted by Illinois
legislators to amend the | ||||||
| 3 | Illinois Constitution; and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, Members of the General Assembly who represent a | ||||||
| 5 | cross section of Illinois
geography and Illinois politics have | ||||||
| 6 | sought to amend the Illinois Constitution to address
challenges | ||||||
| 7 | including taxes and revenue; term limits and recall of elected | ||||||
| 8 | officials; voting and
elections; home rule governance and | ||||||
| 9 | unfunded mandates; education funding and public pension
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| 10 | reform; and, consolidation of constitutional officers and | ||||||
| 11 | legislative redistricting; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, The upcoming Illinois Bicentennial year of 2018 | ||||||
| 13 | provides the appropriate
opportunity for Illinois citizens and | ||||||
| 14 | elected officials to reflect upon the condition and
contemplate | ||||||
| 15 | the future of our Great State; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Ten years will have passed since Illinois voters | ||||||
| 17 | have been asked to approve a State
Constitutional Convention; | ||||||
| 18 | and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, Subsection (a) of Section 1 of Article XIV of the | ||||||
| 20 | Illinois Constitution states:
"Whenever three-fifths of the | ||||||
| 21 | members elected to each house of the General Assembly so | ||||||
| 22 | direct,
the question of whether a Constitutional Convention | ||||||
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| 1 | should be called shall be submitted to the
electors at the | ||||||
| 2 | general election next occurring at least six months after such | ||||||
| 3 | legislative direction"; therefore, be it
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| 4 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 5 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE | ||||||
| 6 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that the proposition on whether a State | ||||||
| 7 | Constitutional Convention should be called be submitted to the | ||||||
| 8 | electors of this State at the general election next occurring | ||||||
| 9 | at least six months after the adoption of this resolution, as | ||||||
| 10 | provided in Article XIV, Section 1, of the Illinois | ||||||
| 11 | Constitution; and be it further
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| 12 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 13 | presented to the Secretary of State and the State Board of | ||||||
| 14 | Elections.
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