Full Text of SJR0001 100th General Assembly
SJ0001 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The first President of the United States, George | 3 | | Washington, stated in his Farewell Address: "The basis of our | 4 | | political systems is the right of the people to make and to | 5 | | alter their Constitutions of Government."; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, 25% of Congress has been in office for more than | 7 | | 16 years; by the end of 2016, 9 members will have been in | 8 | | office for more than 40 years; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Term limits would reverse this trend by ensuring | 10 | | that open-seat races are held on a regular basis; the best and | 11 | | brightest minds in our states, who are currently blocked from | 12 | | serving in Congress by tenured politicians, would finally have | 13 | | the opportunity to move upward and make their case to the | 14 | | American people; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Term limits also address the top-down power | 16 | | structure in Washington by allowing for less senior members to | 17 | | hold leadership roles; this means Congress will not only get an | 18 | | infusion of new talent but that all of its members will be | 19 | | empowered to make a difference; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution | 21 | | requires the United States Congress to call a convention for |
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| 1 | | proposing amendments upon application of two-thirds of the | 2 | | legislatures of the several states for the purpose of proposing | 3 | | amendments to the United States Constitution; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois sees the need for a | 5 | | convention to propose amendments to set a limit on the number | 6 | | of terms that a person may be elected as a Member of the United | 7 | | States House of Representatives and to set a limit on the | 8 | | number of terms that a person may be elected as a Member of the | 9 | | United States Senate, or for a substantially similar purpose, | 10 | | and desires that the convention should be so limited; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois desires that the delegates | 12 | | to the convention shall be comprised equally from individuals | 13 | | currently elected to State and local office, or be selected by | 14 | | election in each Congressional district for the purpose of | 15 | | serving as delegates, though all individuals elected or | 16 | | appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be prohibited | 17 | | from serving as delegates to the Convention, and intends to | 18 | | retain the ability to restrict or expand the power of its | 19 | | delegates within the limits expressed above; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois intends that this be a | 21 | | continuing application, considered together with applications | 22 | | from other States to Congress, to call a convention to set a | 23 | | limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected to |
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| 1 | | the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United | 2 | | States and the Senate of the United States; and this | 3 | | application shall be aggregated with same for the purpose of | 4 | | attaining the two-thirds of states necessary to require | 5 | | Congress to call a limited convention on this subject but shall | 6 | | not be aggregated with any other applications on any other | 7 | | subject; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, This application constitutes a continuing | 9 | | application in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of | 10 | | the United States of America until the legislatures of at least | 11 | | two-thirds of the several states have made applications on the | 12 | | same subject; therefore, be it | 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 15 | | CONCURRING HEREIN, that we, the legislature of the State of | 16 | | Illinois, hereby make application to the Congress, under the | 17 | | provisions of Article V of the Constitution of the United | 18 | | States, for the calling of a convention for proposing | 19 | | amendments; and be it further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That this application shall be deemed an | 21 | | application for a convention to address each and any of the | 22 | | subjects listed in this resolution; for purposes of determining | 23 | | whether two-thirds of the states have applied for a convention |
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| 1 | | addressing any subject, this application is to be aggregated | 2 | | with the applications of any other state legislatures limited | 3 | | to one or more of the subjects listed in this resolution; and | 4 | | be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That this resolution constitutes a continuing | 6 | | application and remains in effect until rescission by any | 7 | | sitting session of the legislature of this State; this | 8 | | application does not constitute a recognition that any | 9 | | particular activity or activities currently undertaken by the | 10 | | federal government is or are authorized by the Constitution; | 11 | | and be it further
| 12 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 13 | | delivered to the President and Secretary of the United States | 14 | | Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the House of Representatives | 15 | | of the United States Congress, and the Archivist of the United | 16 | | States; to the members of the United States Senate and House of | 17 | | Representatives from this State; and to the presiding officers | 18 | | of each of the legislative chambers in the several States, | 19 | | requesting their cooperation.
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