HJ0020 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0020 LRB101 08022 MST 53083 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Founders of our country empowered state legislators to be guardians of liberty against future abuses of power by the federal government; and

WHEREAS, The federal government has created a crushing national debt through improper and imprudent spending; and

WHEREAS, The federal government has invaded the legitimate roles of the states through the manipulative process of federal mandates, most of which are unfunded to a great extent; and

WHEREAS, The federal government has ceased to live under a proper interpretation of the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, It is the solemn duty of the states to protect the liberty of our people - particularly for the generations to come - by proposing Amendments to the Constitution of the United States through a Convention of the States under Article V for the purpose of restraining these and related abuses of power; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the State of Illinois hereby makes application to Congress under the provisions of Article V of the Constitution of the United States for the calling of a convention of the states limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government and limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government; and be it further

RESOLVED, That, pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States, we join the other states that have called for a convention for the specific and exclusive purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States limited to the purposes stated herein; provided, however, that the delegates from Illinois to said convention are expressly limited to consideration and support of amendments that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government and limit the federal government's power and jurisdiction; that it is our express intention that this application shall be aggregated with the subsequent applications of other states limited to the purposes identified in this application; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the convention delegates from Illinois are hereby instructed not to support any amendment proposals regarding term limits for federal officials or for members of Congress; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this application be provided to the President and Secretary of the United States Senate and to the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this application constitutes a continuing application in accordance with Article V of the United States Constitution until the legislatures of at least two-thirds of the states have made applications on the same subject.