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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Members of religious, racial, and ethnic minority
3groups throughout Illinois are suffering from a continuing
4series of attacks and desecrations fueled by hate and
5intolerance; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reported a
7frightening 17 percent increase in hate crimes, a 37 percent
8increase in anti-Jewish offenses, and a 23 percent increase in
9overall religious-based crimes, resulting in the worse climate
10for religious-based crimes since the immediate period post
11September 11, 2001; and
 
12    WHEREAS, 59.6 percent of hate crimes target their victims
13based on race, ethnicity, or ancestry with the FBI reporting a
1416 percent increase in hate crimes targeting African Americans;
15and
 
16    WHEREAS, Hate crimes have increased nationally each of the
17past three years, and every region of Illinois has experienced
18hate crimes and hate-fueled vandalism, including Sunset Hill
19Cemetery in Glen Carbon, where over 200 headstones and
20monuments were desecrated with spray-painted swastikas, the
21anti-Semitic swastika graffiti that targeted the Loop
22Synagogue in Chicago, the horrific, racist graffiti at Oak Park

 

 

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1River Forest High School, and the racist and white supremacist
2notes targeting students at Southern Illinois University
3Edwardsville; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Half of the hate crimes reported occur in Chicago,
5and 50 percent are reported elsewhere in the State; the
6Southern Poverty Law Center reports that there are 34 active
7hate groups in Illinois, throughout all regions, targeting
8nearly every race, religion, and sexual orientation; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Latino, immigrant, Asian-American, and Muslim
10communities throughout Illinois are reporting incidents of
11prejudice and intolerance; and
 
12    WHEREAS, State and local law enforcement in Illinois report
13a surge in racial and religious vandalism and acts of violence
14in recent months; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Educators agree that tolerance and acceptance
16must be taught at an early age; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Illinois communities targeted by hatred have
18worked together throughout our State's history to help each
19other overcome intolerance; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Examples include Illinois residents of all

 

 

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1backgrounds and regions who joined the abolition movement in
2the 1800s, Jewish, Latino, and Asian-American community
3leaders who worked with African-American leaders during
4Chicago's civil rights and open housing movements, and leaders
5of diverse groups who stood in solidarity with Jewish leaders
6at Chicago's DuSable Museum of African American History
7following the killing of 11 people at the Tree of Life
8Synagogue in 2018; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The Simon Wiesenthal Center is a
10globally-recognized human rights organization that teaches the
11importance of tolerance and working in diverse Illinois
12communities; the center is named for Simon Wiesenthal, a
13holocaust survivor who had over 80 members of his family
14murdered by the Nazis, who went on to lead the global movement
15to hold Nazis accountable for their crimes; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The Simon Wiesenthal Center runs the acclaimed
17Museum of Tolerance, which has educated millions of students
18about the importance of fighting prejudice, as well as a
19successful mobile tolerance center, which brings these lessons
20to schools and other community locations; therefore, be it
 
21    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
22HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
23we commend and support the Simon Wiesenthal Center on its

 

 

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1efforts to bring mobile tolerance education to communities
2throughout Illinois to help prevent further incidents of hate
3and discrimination.