SJ0022 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0022 LRB097 10929 GRL 51487 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Congress serves as the legislative branch of the United States government and is responsible for the passage of laws that affect the lives of all Americans; and

WHEREAS, Various actions performed or proposed by various members of Congress, including cuts in programs such as Social Security and Medicare, stand in stark contrast to the lucrative benefits and financial security the members of Congress currently possess, which have a much lower chance of being reduced or eliminated; and

WHEREAS, The United States Constitution guarantees the equal protection and application of the laws to each citizen of our nation; the spirit of the Constitution is violated when members of Congress enjoy the fruits of Congressional benefits and salaries while creating hardships for lower-income Americans through cuts in necessary programs; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we hereby apply to Congress to call a limited constitutional convention for the purpose of proposing to the states for ratification an amendment to the United States Constitution; and be it further

RESOLVED, That such an amendment should be worded as follows, without substantial alteration: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives, and Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States"; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this application constitutes a continuing application in accordance with Article V of the United States Constitution until at least two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states have made application for a limited constitutional convention; and be it further

RESOLVED, That, if two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states make application to Congress to call a limited constitutional convention, the State of Illinois requests that such a convention be called not later than 6 months after Congress receives the necessary applications from state legislatures; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the limited convention called by Congress shall be limited to the topics proposed in this resolution; if a limited convention were to consider topics beyond the limited scope of this call for a constitutional convention, delegates, representatives, or participants shall be selected by the citizens of the State of Illinois to participate in the limited convention and shall be permitted to vote only on proposed amendments topically contained within the scope of this call and shall be instructed to vote against any other proposed amendments; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United States Senate, the members of the Illinois congressional delegation, the presiding officers of each chamber of each state legislature in the United States, and the news media of the State of Illinois.