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1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, The people of Illinois seek to uphold the values | ||||||
3 | that make the United States and the State of Illinois great, | ||||||
4 | those of freedom, opportunity, equal justice under law for | ||||||
5 | all, and all civil liberties enshrined in the United States | ||||||
6 | and Illinois Constitutions; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, Anti-immigrant sentiment and anti-immigrant | ||||||
8 | extremism have factored into discrimination against Asian | ||||||
9 | Americans and other marginalized people throughout our history | ||||||
10 | and caused real harm to individuals and communities; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, The people and the State of Illinois have a duty | ||||||
12 | to uphold our founding values and actively work to learn from | ||||||
13 | our history and prevent the mistakes and tragedies of our | ||||||
14 | past, including the unconstitutional use of executive orders | ||||||
15 | to deny the guaranteed rights of citizenship; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, It is most appropriate and necessary to | ||||||
17 | commemorate those incredible individuals who have defended | ||||||
18 | civil liberties and resisted oppression within our great | ||||||
19 | nation; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, An assault on civil liberties was launched on | ||||||
21 | February 19, 1942 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed |
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1 | Executive Order No. 9066, authorizing the internment of all | ||||||
2 | people of Japanese descent in the United States; under the | ||||||
3 | order, those of Japanese ancestry, many American citizens, | ||||||
4 | were subject to a curfew, ordered to submit to imprisonment, | ||||||
5 | and placed in American internment camps without trial, access | ||||||
6 | to legal counsel, or notice of any criminal charges; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, Fred T. Korematsu of Oakland, California | ||||||
8 | valiantly refused to comply with these directives in an | ||||||
9 | admirable display of civil disobedience and continued to | ||||||
10 | proudly live his life as a free American citizen; he was | ||||||
11 | subsequently arrested and tried for refusing to comply with | ||||||
12 | Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34, which was authorized by | ||||||
13 | Executive Order No. 9066, and he was sent to Topaz internment | ||||||
14 | camp in Utah; and | ||||||
15 | WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu, in a selfless act of sacrifice, | ||||||
16 | agreed to be the representative for those wrongfully | ||||||
17 | imprisoned and appealed his case with the help of Earnest | ||||||
18 | Besig of the American Civil Liberties Union; the case was | ||||||
19 | heard by the United States Supreme Court; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, The Supreme Court upheld the decision to imprison | ||||||
21 | Fred Korematsu in a 6-3 ruling, as well as the | ||||||
22 | constitutionality of discrimination against a racial group as | ||||||
23 | justified under conditions of war; that decision remains a |
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1 | stain upon civil liberties and American values of equal | ||||||
2 | protection under law; his conviction was overturned via a writ | ||||||
3 | of error coram nobis on November 10, 1983 by the United States | ||||||
4 | District Court of Northern California; the Supreme Court | ||||||
5 | decision has yet to be challenged; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu and his legal team appealed to | ||||||
7 | overturn his conviction, inspiring the Civil Liberties Act of | ||||||
8 | 1988, which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan and | ||||||
9 | which formally apologized to those wrongfully incarcerated | ||||||
10 | under Executive Order No. 9066 and acknowledged the order was | ||||||
11 | issued because of "racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a | ||||||
12 | failure of political leadership"; he was later awarded the | ||||||
13 | Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton, the | ||||||
14 | highest honor awarded to a civilian who has admirably served | ||||||
15 | the interests of the nation; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu continued throughout his life to | ||||||
17 | raise his voice for the voiceless and defend the defenseless | ||||||
18 | in solidarity with those denied civil liberties, including | ||||||
19 | speaking out against the solitary confinement of an American | ||||||
20 | Muslim man in a United States military prison without trial; | ||||||
21 | and | ||||||
22 | WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu passed away on March 30, 2005; | ||||||
23 | today, the Fred Korematsu Institute works to educate people |
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1 | about his life story and the importance of civil liberties; | ||||||
2 | the institute also aims to promote awareness of his life and | ||||||
3 | work by schools, the general public, and state and federal | ||||||
4 | legislators of his life with the observation of his birthdate, | ||||||
5 | January 30, as Fred T. Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the | ||||||
6 | Constitution; therefore, be it | ||||||
7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
8 | HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
9 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we commend Fred T. Korematsu | ||||||
10 | for his courageous efforts for civil liberties; and be it | ||||||
11 | further | ||||||
12 | RESOLVED, That we honor the legacy of Fred Korematsu, his | ||||||
13 | institute, and his children who work so diligently to educate | ||||||
14 | the public by encouraging schools and institutes of higher | ||||||
15 | learning throughout the State of Illinois to incorporate his | ||||||
16 | story and valiant stand for American values of justice into | ||||||
17 | their curriculum; and be it further | ||||||
18 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
19 | presented to the Illinois State Board of Education and each | ||||||
20 | Illinois state university. |