SJ0068 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0068 LRB099 24046 SMS 51663 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, 25% of Congress has been in office for more than 16 years; by the end of 2016, 9 members will have been in office for more than 40 years; and

WHEREAS, Term limits would reverse this trend by ensuring that open-seat races are held on a regular basis; the best and brightest minds in our states, who are currently blocked from serving in Congress by tenured politicians, would finally have the opportunity to move upward and make their case to the American people; and

WHEREAS, Term limits also address the top-down power structure in Washington by allowing for less senior members to hold leadership roles; this means Congress will not only get an infusion of new talent but that all of its members will be empowered to make a difference; 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 to set a limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected as a Member of the United States House of Representatives and to set a limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected as a Member of the United States Senate, 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 from other States to Congress, to call a convention to set a limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected to the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States and the Senate of the United States; and this application shall be aggregated with same for the purpose of attaining the two-thirds of states necessary to require Congress to call a limited convention on this subject but shall not be aggregated with any other applications on any other subject; and

WHEREAS, This application constitutes a continuing application in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the United States of America until the legislatures of at least two-thirds of the several states have made applications on the same subject; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH 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.