SJ0042 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0042 LRB098 13937 JDS 48482 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The first President of the United States, George Washington, stated in his Farewell Address: "The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government."; and

WHEREAS, It was the stated intention of the framers of the Constitution of the United States of America that the Congress of the United States of America should be "dependent on the people alone" (James Madison, Federalist 52); and

WHEREAS, That dependency has evolved from a dependency on the people alone to a dependency on those who spend excessively in elections, through campaigns or third-party groups; and

WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), removed restrictions on amounts of independent political spending; and

WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution requires the United States Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments upon application of two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states for the purpose of proposing amendments to the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois sees the need for a convention to propose amendments in order to address concerns such as those raised by the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

and related cases and events, including those occurring long before or afterward, or for a substantially similar purpose, and desires that the convention should be so limited; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois desires that the delegates to the convention shall be comprised equally from individuals currently elected to State and local office, or be selected by election in each Congressional district for the purpose of serving as delegates, though all individuals elected or appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be prohibited from serving as delegates to the Convention, and intends to retain the ability to restrict or expand the power of its delegates within the limits expressed above; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois intends that this be a continuing application, considered together with applications calling for a convention currently pending in the 188th Massachusetts legislature as S.1727 and H.3190, the 2013-2014 Vermont legislature as J.R.S. 27, and the 2013-2014 California legislature as AJR 1, and all other passed, pending, and future applications, the aforementioned concerns of Illinois notwithstanding until such time as two-thirds of the several states have applied for a Convention and that Convention is convened by Congress; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we, the legislature of the State of Illinois, hereby make application to the Congress, under the provisions of Article V of the Constitution of the United States, for the calling of a convention for proposing amendments; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this application shall be deemed an application for a convention to address each and any of the subjects listed in this resolution; for purposes of determining whether two-thirds of the states have applied for a convention addressing any subject, this application is to be aggregated with the applications of any other state legislatures limited to one or more of the subjects listed in this resolution; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this resolution constitutes a continuing application and remains in effect until rescission by any sitting session of the legislature of this State; this application does not constitute a recognition that any particular activity or activities currently undertaken by the federal government is or are authorized by the Constitution; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the President and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and the Archivist of the United States; to the members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives from this State; and to the presiding officers of each of the legislative chambers in the several States, requesting their cooperation.