SR0582sam001 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0582SAM001 LRB100 13041 MST 30244 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE RESOLUTION 582

AMENDMENT NO. ___. Amend Senate Resolution 582 by replacing everything after the heading with the following:

"WHEREAS, The United States was built upon the premise and the promise of religious acceptance, a principle enshrined in the First Amendment guarantee of free exercise of religion and faith; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has historically welcomed newcomers from all nations and of all faith traditions, and has historically benefited from the diversity that newcomers bring; and

WHEREAS, The most recent federal election campaign featured rhetoric and discussion of policy proposals hostile to certain nationality and religious groups, including a call for registry of Americans based upon their country of origin or their religious beliefs; and

WHEREAS, Reported physical attacks on Muslim, Sikh, Arab, and South Asian Americans and other incidents of discrimination, including in housing, employment, and education, have increased sharply during the past two years and in particular since the 2016 elections; and

WHEREAS, Youths among various ethnic and religious groups have been targeted for discrimination and face barriers to safely expressing their religion in school, with young Muslim women being bullied for wearing the hijab or niqab; and

WHEREAS, The current federal administration has imposed a series of restrictions based upon religion or ethnicity currently targeting immigrants and travelers from eight countries, including six Muslim majority countries along with North Korea and Venezuela - restrictions that federal courts had previously enjoined in part due to their discriminatory intent; and

WHEREAS, Initiatives such as the travel restrictions and the potential registry echo past discriminatory initiatives such as the internment of 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent during World War II, for which our nation has formally apologized; and

WHEREAS, Our State should continue to welcome all nationality and religious groups and should stand in opposition to any attempts to discriminate against any group based on national origin or religion; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that it is the sense of this body that no State or local government agency or official should expend any time, facilities, equipment, information, or other resources of the agency or official to facilitate the creation, publication, or maintenance of or any participation in any federal program with the purpose of registering or maintaining a database of individuals present in the United States based on their race, color, ancestry, national origin, or religion; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the President and Vice-President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leaders of the United States House of Representatives, and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation."