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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, President Barack Obama will conclude his second | ||||||
3 | and final term as President of the
United States of America on | ||||||
4 | January 20, 2017 and will thereafter endeavor to build a
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5 | Presidential Library and Museum; and
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6 | WHEREAS, It has been widely reported that the Barack Obama | ||||||
7 | Foundation will choose between
potential sites for the | ||||||
8 | Presidential Library and Museum in Illinois, Hawaii, and New | ||||||
9 | York; and
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10 | WHEREAS, A recent legislative initiative proposes to | ||||||
11 | allocate $100 million from Illinois capital
spending funds for | ||||||
12 | the construction of President Obama's Presidential Library and | ||||||
13 | Museum; and
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14 | WHEREAS, This proposal comes at a time when the State's | ||||||
15 | budget condition continues to
worsen, despite a record 67% tax | ||||||
16 | increase in 2011 and economic growth that continues to lag
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17 | behind national recovery trends; and
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18 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a $5 billion backlog of | ||||||
19 | unpaid bills; over the last 5 years, the State has been
unable | ||||||
20 | to adequately fund budget priorities, such as education, human | ||||||
21 | services, and public
safety programs and services; and
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1 | WHEREAS, The last two Presidents of the United States have | ||||||
2 | used private donations to build
their libraries; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, No Presidential Libraries overseen by the | ||||||
4 | National Archives and Records
Administration have received | ||||||
5 | direct funding from either the Federal government or their
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6 | respective states; therefore, be it
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7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
8 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
9 | we state the belief that, despite our utmost respect for the | ||||||
10 | office of the President of the United States of America and the | ||||||
11 | historical and academic importance of Presidential Libraries, | ||||||
12 | the State of Illinois cannot afford to spend $100 million from | ||||||
13 | taxpayer funds on this project; and be it further
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14 | RESOLVED, That we show our support for the efforts by many | ||||||
15 | to locate a Presidential Library and Museum to the State of | ||||||
16 | Illinois without the use of taxpayer funding; and be it further | ||||||
17 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
18 | delivered to the Governor of the State of
Illinois, the | ||||||
19 | President and Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate, and the | ||||||
20 | Speaker and Minority Leader of the Illinois House of | ||||||
21 | Representatives.
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