Full Text of HR0866 101st General Assembly
HR0866 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, 300 years ago people of African descent were | 3 | | forcibly brought to Illinois as slaves; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The French brought the first slaves of African | 5 | | descent to Illinois Country in or around 1720; at that point, | 6 | | slave labor became the economic engine responsible for Illinois | 7 | | developing one of the largest economies in the world; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Slaves of African descent in Illinois Country | 9 | | worked in the lead mines and the American Bottom, famous for | 10 | | its fertile soil, in the modern day Metro East area; they also | 11 | | provided free labor for the highly profitable saltworks | 12 | | industries in the Salines; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Slaves of African descent were required to till | 14 | | the land, plant crops, forge and mine for lead, make lucrative | 15 | | salt, construct infrastructure, and build shelter in the | 16 | | following Illinois counties: Alexander, Jackson, Randolph, | 17 | | Gallatin, Franklin, Pope, Jefferson, Johnson, Wayne, Hamilton, | 18 | | White, Fayette, Union, Marion, Monroe, St. Clair, Madison, | 19 | | Bond, Washington, Montgomery, Green, Pike, Sangamon, Morgan, | 20 | | Fulton, Edgar, Clark, Crawford, Lawrence, and Edwards; many of | 21 | | these counties have been further subdivided in mid-2020; for | 22 | | example, modern day Pulaski, Massac, Saline, Hardin, Perry, |
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| 1 | | Effingham, and Williamson counties were all pro-slavery | 2 | | counties; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, The French had a specific law called Code Noir, | 4 | | designed to oversee the slaves of African descent in the Metro | 5 | | East area; Code Noir was first implemented in Haiti in 1685 to | 6 | | regulate the slave trade of people of African descent; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, In 1763, after France's loss to the British in the | 8 | | French and Indian War, Illinois Country was ceded to the | 9 | | British via the Treaty of Paris; at that point, Britain had | 10 | | established itself as the dominant colonial power in North | 11 | | America; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Like the French, the British had long-standing | 13 | | laws for regulating slaves of African descent in the Metro | 14 | | East; beginning with the Barbados Slave Code of 1661, the | 15 | | British continued to revise their Slave Codes in various | 16 | | jurisdictions and ultimately shaped the body of law supporting | 17 | | Slave Codes and Black Laws in Illinois; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, In 1789, following Britain's loss in the American | 19 | | Revolutionary War, Illinois Country became part of the new | 20 | | Northwest Territory; even though slavery was prohibited in the | 21 | | Northwest Territory by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, most | 22 | | territorial governors ignored the slavery ban and continued |
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| 1 | | profiting from African descent slave labor; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, In 1800, Illinois Country was absorbed into the | 3 | | Indiana Territory as America began to expand west by war or | 4 | | purchase; notably, the Indiana Territory had its own Slave | 5 | | Codes on the books entitled "An Act Concerning the Introduction | 6 | | of Negroes and Mulattoes into this Territory"; these Slave | 7 | | Codes allowed people of African descent to be brought into the | 8 | | territory and indentured; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, In Gallatin County, African descent slave labor | 10 | | was the catalyst for Illinois Country reaching a very large | 11 | | agreement with the federal government regarding the abundance | 12 | | of salt springs in the region of the Wabash and Saline rivers; | 13 | | the two principal springs were known as the Half Moon Lick and | 14 | | Nigger Springs; there were salines in Vermilion County, the Big | 15 | | Muddy Saline and a saline at St. Genevieve, Missouri, but the | 16 | | Gallatin County saline produced more than all the others | 17 | | combined; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, An Act of Congress dated March 26, 1804 provided | 19 | | among other things that "all salt springs, licks, wells with | 20 | | the necessary land adjacent thereto were reserved from sale as | 21 | | the property of the United States."; the territorial governor | 22 | | of Illinois Country was authorized to lease these salt wells | 23 | | and springs to the best interests of the general government; on |
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| 1 | | April 30, 1804, Governor Harrison appointed Isaac White of | 2 | | Vincennes to be a government agent and reside at the works and | 3 | | collect the revenue due America; he assumed his duties and was | 4 | | assisted by John Marshall, who probably resided at Shawneetown; | 5 | | and | 6 | | WHEREAS, In 1809, propelled by its slave labor, Illinois | 7 | | became its own territory after being severed from Indiana | 8 | | Territory; people of African descent in the new Illinois | 9 | | Territory continued to be subjected to the body of law | 10 | | contained in the Indiana Slave Codes; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Not even three decades after the signing of the | 12 | | Treaty of Paris, which formalized Britain's recognition of the | 13 | | United States of America, the two countries were again in | 14 | | conflict in the War of 1812; resentment for Britain's | 15 | | interference with American international trade, combined with | 16 | | American expansionist visions, led Congress to declare war on | 17 | | Great Britain on June 18, 1812; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, At this point, Illinois had to prove to the | 19 | | pro-expansion supporters that it was capable of producing | 20 | | benefits and revenue to help the U.S. both finance wars and | 21 | | acquire more land; African descent slave labor from the | 22 | | saltworks was key to Illinois' success in this regard; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, On April 8, 1818, President James Monroe signed | 2 | | into law "An Act to Enable the People of Illinois Territory to | 3 | | form a constitution and state government and for the admission | 4 | | of such state into the Union on an equal footing with the | 5 | | original states."; Illinois was now a state on the path to a | 6 | | burgeoning economy largely driven by African descent slave | 7 | | labor; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, In 1818, Illinois became a state divided between | 9 | | English-speaking and French-speaking citizens; the first | 10 | | Governor of the State of Illinois, Shadrach Bond, held slaves | 11 | | of African descent; he further supported the introduction of a | 12 | | pro-slave constitution; in a three-way race, French-speaking | 13 | | Pierre Menard won the race for lieutenant governor; Menard also | 14 | | held slaves of African descent; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, When the 1818 Illinois Constitution was adopted, | 16 | | it revised several aspects of the status of slaves of African | 17 | | descent to conform with the federal guidelines for statehood; | 18 | | for example, it is clear that Illinois simply abolished slavery | 19 | | to comply with the federal balance of slave states versus | 20 | | non-slave states in the new America; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, The 1818 Illinois Constitution additionally | 22 | | limited the right to vote to free white men, excluding all | 23 | | others; Illinois also constitutionally excluded people of |
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| 1 | | African descent from serving in the militia; in other words, | 2 | | Illinois would not be policed by anyone of African descent and | 3 | | would remain a slave state; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, The Constitution further kept an exemption | 5 | | allowing slavery at the Illinois salines and other salt springs | 6 | | near Shawneetown; according to historians, African descent | 7 | | slave-operated saltworks contributed one-third of the revenue | 8 | | for the new Illinois; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, The initial legislatures followed the examples of | 10 | | the French and British Slave Codes and their own beliefs when | 11 | | they created Black Codes, effectively establishing two classes | 12 | | of citizenship in Illinois; the new legislatures, sitting in | 13 | | Vandalia, focused on restricting the movement of people of | 14 | | African descent and made significant financial investments | 15 | | into the state's roads, bridges, and yet another economic | 16 | | engine, prisons; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, The new legislatures passed laws requiring people | 18 | | of African descent to produce on demand a Certificate of | 19 | | Freedom, verifying that they were a free person of color; | 20 | | people of African descent were additionally required to post a | 21 | | bond guaranteeing their good behavior under the new Black | 22 | | Codes; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Notably, the good behavior bond requirements | 2 | | ranged as high as $1,000, which was virtually unobtainable for | 3 | | people of African descent at that time; consequently, most | 4 | | people of African descent had to rely on a white person to | 5 | | serve as their surety when posting their good behavior bond; | 6 | | this was equally unobtainable for a person of African descent; | 7 | | and | 8 | | WHEREAS, The Black Codes received their first test in the | 9 | | elections of 1822; the governor's race had four candidates, two | 10 | | judges, a business man, and the eventual winner, a true | 11 | | anti-slavery candidate; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, The pro-slavery faction carried both houses of the | 13 | | legislature in the 1822 elections; yet, the pro-slavery faction | 14 | | split the vote in the governor's race allowing Edward Coles, a | 15 | | former federal envoy from Virginia, to win by a small margin; | 16 | | and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Governor Coles, who had earlier emancipated his | 18 | | own slaves of African descent and purchased land for them, | 19 | | pursued an ambitious anti-slavery plan; he sought to free the | 20 | | remaining slaves in Illinois (those who had been in the land | 21 | | before the ordinance of 1789), loosen the harsh Black Codes, | 22 | | and stop the kidnapping and enslavement of free people of | 23 | | African descent; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The pro-slavery legislature was not interested in | 2 | | such a proposal; instead, it recommended that a referendum | 3 | | question be put on the ballot asking voters to decide whether | 4 | | Illinois should call a constitutional convention and amend its | 5 | | constitution to become a slave state; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Such a measure required a two-thirds majority in | 7 | | the legislature; while the state Senate garnered the votes for | 8 | | the proposal, it seemed destined to fall one vote short in the | 9 | | House of Representatives; however, the pro-slavery forces in | 10 | | the legislature unseated a man whose election had been | 11 | | disputed, and they replaced him with one who supported their | 12 | | slave state objective; the convention measure passed; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Citizens celebrated in the streets, holding | 14 | | processions, parades, and public dinners; at one, this toast | 15 | | was said to be offered, "The State of Illinois: the ground is | 16 | | good, prairie in abundance; give us plenty of negroes, a little | 17 | | industry, and she will distribute her treasures."; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, The next election was August 2, 1824; the | 19 | | political campaign that ensued was impassioned, fractious, and | 20 | | intense; the subject was addressed tirelessly in the pulpits | 21 | | and the newspapers; the turnout on August 2nd was enormous | 22 | | compared with the presidential election that fall, where 4,532 |
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| 1 | | votes were cast in Illinois; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, On the slavery question in August of 1824, 11,612 | 3 | | went to the polls; when the votes were counted, the pro-slavery | 4 | | faction lost, 6,640 to 4,972; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, The following counties voted in favor of Illinois | 6 | | becoming a slave state in 1824: Alexander, Jackson, Randolph | 7 | | (the home county of the first lieutenant governor and | 8 | | slaveowner Pierre Menard), Gallatin (saltworks), Franklin, | 9 | | Pope, Jefferson, Wayne, Hamilton, White, and Fayette; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, In August of 1824, Johnson County voted equally on | 11 | | the question of whether Illinois should become a slave state; | 12 | | and | 13 | | WHEREAS, The following counties voted in opposition to | 14 | | Illinois becoming a slave state in 1824: Union, Marion, Monroe, | 15 | | St. Clair, Madison, Bond, Washington, Montgomery, Green, Pike, | 16 | | Sangamon, Morgan, Fulton, Edgar, Clark, Crawford, Lawrence, | 17 | | and Edwards; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, In 1827, Illinois intensified production in its | 19 | | African descent slave saltworks to obtain federal funding for | 20 | | infrastructure and capital improvements; after intense | 21 | | negotiations, Illinois ultimately passed a capital bill with |
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| 1 | | federal funds tied to revenue from the saltworks; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, The captured federal funds for capital | 3 | | improvements were distributed using a regional approach; the | 4 | | eastern half of the state invested its portion of capital funds | 5 | | in infrastructure, roads, and bridges, all to be supported by | 6 | | African descent labor; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The western portion of the state invested in the | 8 | | privatization of a new business, prisons; in 1831, the Illinois | 9 | | State Penitentiary was built in Alton, with large cost overruns | 10 | | because of soil integrity issues; much later, a prison now | 11 | | known as Menard Correctional Center followed in Randolph | 12 | | County; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, During this time, the industrial revolution in | 14 | | Great Britain was intensifying, leading to more opportunities | 15 | | for Illinois businesses; Europe's textile factories needed | 16 | | more cotton that was produced by slave labor, and the world | 17 | | demand was increasing for salt, lead, and coal; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, The 1840 Illinois Constitution specifically | 19 | | banned slavery in section 16 of its Declaration of Rights, | 20 | | specifying "There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary | 21 | | servitude in the State, except as a punishment for crime | 22 | | whereof the party shall have been duly convicted."; however, it |
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| 1 | | included a requirement that the General Assembly pass laws to | 2 | | prohibit the emigration of free African Americans into the | 3 | | state and to bar slaveholders from bringing slaves into the | 4 | | state for the purpose of freeing them; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, There was, of course, opposition; the "Colored | 6 | | People of Chicago", for example, met to draft resolutions | 7 | | opposing the new constitution and the "unjust and partial laws" | 8 | | in the state, but the General Assembly failed to adopt them; | 9 | | and | 10 | | WHEREAS, The 1848 Illinois Constitution continued to limit | 11 | | the right to vote to only white males and excluded people of | 12 | | African descent from serving in the militia; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Subsequent legislation led to one of the most | 14 | | restrictive Black Code systems in the nation until the American | 15 | | Civil War; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, In 1848, Belleville in the Metro East became home | 17 | | to the first underground coal mining operation; the new | 18 | | industry spread along shipping areas to ease access to large | 19 | | commercial centers like St. Louis and Chicago; however, it was | 20 | | not until the Civil War, when Illinois railroads grew by leaps | 21 | | and bounds, that coal mining in Southern Illinois began to | 22 | | rapidly develop; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The broader tri-state area lead mining region, the | 2 | | coal region in northern Illinois at the end of the nineteenth | 3 | | century, centered around places like Spring Valley, Braidwood, | 4 | | and Coal City, and the area around Vermilion County and | 5 | | Danville all had significant numbers of miners of African | 6 | | descent; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Secretary of State's | 8 | | current website, "The 1853 Black Law passed in Illinois was | 9 | | considered the harshest of all discriminatory Black Laws passed | 10 | | by Northern states before the Civil War."; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, The 1853 Black Law prohibited any person of | 12 | | African descent from outside of the state from staying in | 13 | | Illinois for more than ten days, and if a person of African | 14 | | descent remained beyond the ten-day period, they would be | 15 | | subject to arrest, detention, a $50 fine, or deportation; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, The 1853 Black Law was often a tool used against | 17 | | whole communities when white citizens found that the increase | 18 | | in black population had reached an unacceptable level; people | 19 | | of African descent who violated the law faced punishments that | 20 | | included being advertised and sold at public auction; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, The 1853 Black Law served, according to one |
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| 1 | | author, "as grinding reminders of apartheid intentions and | 2 | | legal subjugation, and they offered white authorities and mobs | 3 | | excuses for harassment and violence against blacks."; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, A wealthy freeman of African descent by the name | 5 | | of John Jones was instrumental in repealing the 1853 Black Law; | 6 | | with prodding from John Jones and the logic propelled by the | 7 | | results of the Civil War, the Illinois General Assembly | 8 | | repealed the Black Laws in early 1865; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, The repeal of the Black Laws did not confer | 10 | | suffrage or civil rights on the state's people of African | 11 | | descent; instead, they had to wait for ratification of the 14th | 12 | | and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and the Illinois | 13 | | Civil Rights Act of 1885; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, The 14th Amendment was passed in 1868 to help | 15 | | ensure the rights of newly freed people of African descent; men | 16 | | of African descent were given the right to vote in 1870 by the | 17 | | passage of the 15th Amendment; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, The 1870 Illinois Constitution also provided | 19 | | those rights; the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 1885 was also | 20 | | passed forbidding discrimination in public facilities and | 21 | | places, such as hotels, railroads, theaters, and restaurants; | 22 | | and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In the midst of these Constitutional wins, | 2 | | pro-slavery, segregation, and disenfranchisement laws know as | 3 | | "Jim Crow" were enacted; these laws required de jure | 4 | | segregation in all public places and a specific etiquette, | 5 | | while supposedly creating a separate but equal position for | 6 | | people of African descent; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Unfortunately for the people of African descent, | 8 | | the United States Supreme Court helped undermine their | 9 | | Constitutional protections with the infamous Plessy v. | 10 | | Ferguson (1896) case; this decision legitimized the | 11 | | pro-slavery Jim Crow laws and the Jim Crow etiquette; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, The Civil War Reconstruction period brought a | 13 | | migration of people of African descent to Cairo in Alexander | 14 | | County; racial tensions under pro-slavery Jim Crow were always | 15 | | high in the community, but as the shipping and ferrying | 16 | | industries declined, jobs grew more scarce, and the racial | 17 | | unrest intensified; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Moreover, these laws solidified the position that | 19 | | America had two sets of citizens, those of European descent, or | 20 | | first class citizens, and people of African descent, or second | 21 | | class citizens; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Jim Crow etiquette further separated and | 2 | | essentially enslaved people of African descent; for example, a | 3 | | male person of African descent could not offer his hand to | 4 | | shake hands with a white male because it implied being socially | 5 | | equal; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, At the same time, a male person of African descent | 7 | | could not offer his hand or any other part of his body to a | 8 | | white woman because he risked being accused of rape; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Similarly, people of African descent and white | 10 | | people were not supposed to eat together; if they did eat | 11 | | together, whites were to be served first, and some sort of | 12 | | partition was to be placed between them; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Without exception, a male person of African | 14 | | descent was not to offer to light the cigarette of a white | 15 | | woman; such a gesture would imply intimacy; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, People of African descent were not allowed to show | 17 | | public affection toward one another in public, especially | 18 | | kissing, because it offended whites; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Pro-slavery Jim Crow etiquette required that | 20 | | people of African descent be first introduced to white people, | 21 | | never the opposite; at the same time, white people were not to |
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| 1 | | use courtesy titles of respect when referring to people of | 2 | | African descent (i.e. Mr., Mrs., Miss., Sir, or Ma'am); and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Instead, people of African descent were called by | 4 | | their first names and had to use courtesy titles when referring | 5 | | to white people; people of African descent were not allowed to | 6 | | call white people by their first names; for example: "Mr. | 7 | | Reagan (the white person), this is Malcolm (the person of | 8 | | African descent), that I spoke to you about."; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, With respect to transportation, if a person of | 10 | | African descent rode in a car driven by a white person, the | 11 | | person of African descent sat in the back seat or the back of a | 12 | | truck; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Finally, white motorists had the right-of-way at | 14 | | all intersections; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, These pro-slavery Jim Crow laws sparked race riots | 16 | | in Illinois as people of African descent began to relocate from | 17 | | the South; the first race riot occurred in 1908 in Springfield; | 18 | | and | 19 | | WHEREAS, The fact that the riots occurred in Illinois, "The | 20 | | Land of Lincoln", proved that people of African descent were | 21 | | mistreated and brutalized not only in the south but everywhere; |
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| 1 | | in this case, a white mob of 5,000 people beat people of | 2 | | African descent throughout Sangamon county; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, In mid-August 1908, the white population of | 4 | | Springfield reacted to reports that a white woman had been | 5 | | assaulted in her home by a man of African descent; soon | 6 | | afterward, another instance of an assault by a man of African | 7 | | descent on a white woman was reported; these incidents, coming | 8 | | within hours of each other, sparked a gathering of a mob; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Mob leaders carefully directed the participants | 10 | | to destroy only homes and businesses either owned by blacks or | 11 | | which served black patrons, thus leaving nearby white homes and | 12 | | businesses untouched; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, This white mob looted businesses that served those | 14 | | of African descent and lynched several people of African | 15 | | descent; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Throughout World War I, people of African descent | 17 | | continued migrating north for jobs, education, and | 18 | | opportunities and to escape Jim Crow; another race riot | 19 | | occurred in East St. Louis in 1917; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Up to 250 people of African descent were beaten, | 21 | | shot, lynched, and killed; nine white people were killed, and |
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| 1 | | 6,000 people of African descent were left homeless; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, A large number of people of African descent fled | 3 | | East St. Louis; the enrollment in local public schools | 4 | | plummeted by 35% in the fall; in other words, 1 out of 3 | 5 | | children left the City of East St. Louis after the riots of | 6 | | 1917; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, From 1918-1919, the Spanish Flu pandemic killed | 8 | | 23,500 people in Illinois and 675,000 in America; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, At the same time, the summer of 1919 was called | 10 | | "the Red Summer" due to the bloodbath in race riots in 26 | 11 | | American cities, including 38 people killed in a Chicago race | 12 | | riot; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Chicago was a laboratory for segregation; the | 14 | | tools of analyzing real estate and racial data were being | 15 | | created in Chicago in the early 20th century; other tools, such | 16 | | as restrictive covenants, to segregate the city based on race | 17 | | were created in Chicago; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, In 1927, the City of Chicago continued with racist | 19 | | housing practices during the Great Migration; the Chicago Real | 20 | | Estate Board (CREB) sent representatives throughout the city to | 21 | | promote restrictive covenants; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The board representatives provided model | 2 | | contracts drafted by the Chicago Plan Commission as part of | 3 | | their efforts; by 1928, the Hyde Park Herald reported that the | 4 | | covenants prevailed throughout the South Side; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Most neighborhoods of people of African descent | 6 | | were bounded by covenanted areas, since 85% of Chicago was | 7 | | covenanted; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, After the stock market crash of 1929, FDR | 9 | | introduced the New Deal; contained in this bold plan was the | 10 | | creation of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) with the | 11 | | purpose of aiding homeowners in default to prevent | 12 | | foreclosures; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, In the early 1930s, it was soon discovered that | 14 | | pro-slavery ideals remained in housing; the racist attitudes | 15 | | and language found in HOLC appraisal sheets and Residential | 16 | | Security Maps created by the HOLC gave federal support to | 17 | | racist land use practices that helped to further marginalize | 18 | | people of African descent in Illinois; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, This practice of "redlining" in the 1930s locked | 20 | | neighborhoods of African descent into concentrated poverty by | 21 | | systematically diminishing home ownership, home values, and |
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| 1 | | median credit scores; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, During World War II, people of African descent | 3 | | emigrating to Chicago were directed to the "Black Belt" for | 4 | | their housing needs; this area was generally bounded between | 5 | | 12th and 79th streets and Wentworth and Cottage Grove avenues; | 6 | | and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Approximately 60,000 people of African descent | 8 | | moved to Chicago during 1940 to 1944 in search of jobs; in an | 9 | | effort to keep the newly arriving people of African descent out | 10 | | of their neighborhoods, white people formed restrictive | 11 | | covenants; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, This housing system in Chicago led to overcrowding | 13 | | in the Black Belt; such overcrowding, while difficult in | 14 | | itself, also contributed to generally poor housing conditions | 15 | | for people of African descent; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Demand for housing far exceeded its supply after | 17 | | World War II; this led to rent gouging, a practice where | 18 | | exorbitant rental amounts were charged for small kitchenettes | 19 | | with no heat, no bathroom, and deplorable conditions; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, These conditions of ramshackle and dangerous | 21 | | housing, neglect and indifference from city officials, and poor |
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| 1 | | sanitation resulted in infestation by rats in the Black Belt; | 2 | | infant mortality and overall death rates were higher in the | 3 | | Black Belt than in the rest of Chicago; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, The "Southern Illinois Black Belt" in East St. | 5 | | Louis has an aging housing stock where people of African | 6 | | descent have lived since 1720; in 1985, as the housing stock | 7 | | aged and there were inadequate resources to preserve it, HUD | 8 | | placed the East St. Louis public housing system under federal | 9 | | administrative receivership; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Government Accountability | 11 | | Office, "[r]eceiverships at housing authorities have generally | 12 | | resulted from long-standing, severe, and persistent management | 13 | | problems that led to deterioration of the housing stock."; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Yet, for 32 years, HUD did little to | 15 | | comprehensively address issues concerning the aging complexes | 16 | | in East St. Louis, which severely compromised the housing stock | 17 | | for the people of African descent in East St. Louis; many of | 18 | | the people of African descent say that the public housing stock | 19 | | was infested with rats; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, In 2017, HUD officially transitioned housing | 21 | | authority of the City of East St. Louis to local control after | 22 | | 32 years of federal administrative receivership; HUD's |
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| 1 | | oversight of East St. Louis was the first and longest | 2 | | receivership of a local public housing authority in HUD's | 3 | | history; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, The East St. Louis housing authority may be | 5 | | eligible for Replacement Housing Factor Fund grants, which are | 6 | | awarded to housing authorities that have removed units from | 7 | | inventory for the purpose of developing new public housing | 8 | | units; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Only two other housing authorities in America are | 10 | | under federal administrative receivership; one is in Cairo, and | 11 | | the other is in Gary, Indiana, just outside of Chicago; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, In 1988, after electing a person of African | 13 | | descent as mayor, some white residents living in Chicago's | 14 | | "Bungalow Belt" (i.e. single-family homes built in the 1910s | 15 | | and 1920s in a collar on the northwest side and southwest side | 16 | | of Chicago's city limits), pushed for reforms and insurance if | 17 | | persons of African descent moved into the Bungalow Belt and | 18 | | property values dropped; in response, the legislature created | 19 | | three home equity taxing districts for the white home owners | 20 | | living in the Bungalow Belt; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, On a most basic level, all homeowners in these | 22 | | taxing districts pay a small tax to a fund; homeowners |
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| 1 | | voluntarily enroll in the equity program, and if the appraisal | 2 | | is less than the original purchase price when they decide to | 3 | | sell then that homeowner receives a cash claim for the | 4 | | difference; very few, if any, people of African descent are | 5 | | enrolled in this well-funded program; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, In February of 2016, the Alexander County Housing | 7 | | Authority in Cairo (ACHA) was placed under federal | 8 | | administrative receivership; there was strong evidence that | 9 | | the ACHA failed to maintain the Elmwood and McBride complexes, | 10 | | resulting in significant degradation in the quality of the | 11 | | housing in Cairo where people of African descent reside; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, A year later, HUD announced to 185 families that | 13 | | the Elmwood and McBride housing complexes in Cairo would be | 14 | | closed and its residents relocated; this meant that almost 400 | 15 | | people would be forced to leave the city as there was not | 16 | | sufficient HUD-sanctioned housing in town; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, In reported interviews, HUD explained it was | 18 | | hesitant to take Cairo into receivership as it could take many | 19 | | years to execute, require four to five full-time employees, and | 20 | | cost more than $5 million; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, From 2012 to 2018, for every $1 banks loaned in | 22 | | Chicago's white neighborhoods, they invested just 12 cents in |
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| 1 | | the city's neighborhoods of African descent; JPMorgan Chase, | 2 | | for instance, lent 41 times more money in Chicago's white | 3 | | neighborhoods than African-descent neighborhoods; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, During that same time period, Bank of America lent | 5 | | 29 times more money in Chicago's white communities than it did | 6 | | in
African-descent communities; Wells Fargo lent 10 times more | 7 | | in white areas than African-descent areas, and Guaranteed Rate | 8 | | lent 15 times more in Chicago's white communities than its | 9 | | African-descent communities; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, The air quality in communities of African descent | 11 | | is far below acceptable standards; the National Resources | 12 | | Defense Council (NRDC) recently reported that people of African | 13 | | descent in minority neighborhoods on the West and South Sides | 14 | | of Chicago have the greatest exposure to toxic air pollution | 15 | | and other environmental health hazards in the city; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, The communities of Englewood and Roseland rank | 17 | | remarkably high for pollution exposure in Chicago according to | 18 | | the NRDC; Chicago has acknowledged that there are | 19 | | disproportionate pollution problems across Chicago; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Midway through 2020, the world faces a pandemic | 21 | | like it did in 1920; so far, this pandemic has killed 120,000 | 22 | | in the U.S.; in Illinois, as of May 15, 2020, approximately |
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| 1 | | 6,300 Illinoisans have died; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, During the course of this pandemic, like it did in | 3 | | 1920, racial uprisings occurred throughout communities of | 4 | | African descent after a white police officer, while on openly | 5 | | conspicuous videotape, suffocated a man of African descent for | 6 | | nine minutes because he committed, if at all, a petty crime; | 7 | | prior to that, a white Chicago Police Officer shot an unarmed | 8 | | teenager of African descent 16 times for committing, if at all, | 9 | | a petty offense; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, The new currency in life is compassion; while | 11 | | Illinois has grown and become a global power, the people of | 12 | | Illinois cannot ignore the contributions of people of African | 13 | | descent who were the catalyst to the economic growth of | 14 | | Illinois; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, The people of Illinois also can not ignore the | 16 | | injustices that were and continue to be barriers to an equal | 17 | | society; without question, there is a marked contrast between | 18 | | the communities for people of African descent, other minority | 19 | | communities, and the majority white community; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Illinois currently has 3,123 census tracts, 9,691 | 21 | | block groups, and 451,554 census blocks; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Census tracts generally have a population size | 2 | | between 1,200 and 8,000 people, with an optimal size of 4,000 | 3 | | people; a block group is a cluster of blocks within a census | 4 | | tract; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, In the urban cores of most older cities, census | 6 | | blocks are small because development preceded the introduction | 7 | | of urban transportation technologies (such as interurban | 8 | | railways, streetcars, and the automobile) and the | 9 | | decentralization of industries and jobs; surrounding these | 10 | | urban cores in the eastern and southern regions of the nation, | 11 | | one typically finds dense, irregular street patterns and an | 12 | | extensive system of connecting roads due principally to the | 13 | | metes and bounds survey; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Today, the energy sector has the ability to create | 15 | | no cost electricity from the earth that was worked by slaves in | 16 | | Illinois for 300 years; there is currently legislation in | 17 | | Illinois designed to exponentially increase renewable energy | 18 | | generation, but the companies leading this effort are not | 19 | | businesses led or owned by people of African descent; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, For example, a microgrid of unknown cost is | 21 | | currently underway for an community of African descent in | 22 | | Chicago; it will be located in an area bounded from 33rd Street | 23 | | to the North, 38th Street to the South, State Street to the |
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| 1 | | West, and South Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Drive to the East; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Phase I of the project will include 2.5 MW of load | 3 | | and require reconfiguration of an existing feeder and | 4 | | installation of battery storage and solar photovoltaics; it | 5 | | will directly serve approximately 490 customers; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Phase II of the project will add approximately 570 | 7 | | customers and an additional 4.5 MW of load and 7 MW of | 8 | | Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), enough to meet the peak | 9 | | electricity demand of customers within the microgrid footprint | 10 | | and maintain service when the microgrid is islanded from the | 11 | | main grid; the completed project will serve approximately 1,060 | 12 | | residential, commercial, and small industrial customers; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, This microgrid project contemplates that 1 MW of | 14 | | energy will service 150 customers from a base load perspective; | 15 | | if DERs are included in the calculation, the number of | 16 | | customers would climb to 300; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Notably, the microgrid contemplates that | 18 | | customers will be either homes, businesses, and/or small | 19 | | industrial business; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, In 2013, natural gas utilities Peoples Gas, Ameren | 21 | | Illinois, and Nicor Gas began performing infrastructure |
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| 1 | | upgrades; for example, in Chicago, The Peoples Gas System | 2 | | Modernization Program (SMP) is underway; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, SMP is an accelerated, comprehensive, | 4 | | multi-decade program to remove and replace 2,300 miles of 100 | 5 | | year-old, deteriorating cast or ductile iron pipe and upgrade | 6 | | its blow pressure natural gas delivery system to a medium | 7 | | pressure system; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, The broadband sector has also engaged in enhanced | 9 | | wireless and internet capabilities; Cook, Mason, and | 10 | | Washington counties are targeted for significant technological | 11 | | upgrades; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, An integration of wired and wireless technology is | 13 | | the current movement of society; soon networks will be | 14 | | virtualized, and there will be enhanced experiences on mobile | 15 | | devices; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, In 2018, the median property value in Illinois was | 17 | | $203,400, and the homeownership rate was 66%; notably, the | 18 | | median property value in Chicago was $271,600, and the | 19 | | homeownership rate was 45.7%; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Alternatively, the median property value in East | 21 | | St. Louis was $55,000, and the homeownership rate was 43.5%; at |
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| 1 | | the same time, the median property value in Cairo was $30,500, | 2 | | and the homeownership rate was 58.5%; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Finally, the median household incomes in East St. | 4 | | Louis, Cairo, Chicago, and the State of Illinois as a whole are | 5 | | $20,659, $24,549, $57,238, and $65,030, respectively; the | 6 | | disparities between the communities of African descent and | 7 | | other communities is apparent both visually and from the data; | 8 | | and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Black homeownership rates are lower today than | 10 | | they were 50 years ago when housing discrimination was | 11 | | outlawed, and they are particularly bad in Chicago; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, There has never been a successful affirmative | 13 | | action housing policy in the State of Illinois for people of | 14 | | African descent; such a plan is not a novel concept, as one was | 15 | | proposed during the Civil War while the pro-slavery movement | 16 | | began to suffer defeats; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, General William T. Sherman entered Executive | 18 | | Field Order #15 on January 16, 1865; his field order first | 19 | | designated certain captured lands along the coastlines of South | 20 | | Carolina, Georgia, and Florida (i.e. Charleston to | 21 | | Jacksonville along the coastline and then 30 miles inward); and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, By General Sherman's order, subject to | 2 | | ratification by President Lincoln, the specified coastal tract | 3 | | of land was gifted to people of African descent for their own | 4 | | agricultural and housing purposes following slavery; by the | 5 | | order, each family of African descent was awarded "a plot of | 6 | | not more than forty acres of tillable ground"; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Before it was ratified, President Abraham Lincoln | 8 | | was assassinated; President Andrew Johnson, from Raleigh, | 9 | | North Carolina, assumed the presidency; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, President Johnson soon revoked General Sherman's | 11 | | order hampering efforts by people of African descent to gain | 12 | | economic independence after the Emancipation Proclamation; | 13 | | President Johnson was later the first president to be impeached | 14 | | for abuse of power and other high crimes and misdemeanors; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, The regressive policies of the State of Illinois | 16 | | relating to people of African descent are well documented and | 17 | | date back 300 years; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Among other things, the regressive policies have | 19 | | created a stark contrast in the housing available to people of | 20 | | African descent and the housing available to people of | 21 | | non-African descent; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, There is an immediate need to drastically improve | 2 | | the housing stock and the communities where people of African | 3 | | descent reside; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, There is a compelling need to drastically improve | 5 | | the housing conditions of people of African descent residing in | 6 | | the State of Illinois; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The least restrictive means of drastically | 8 | | improving the housing stock, communities, and conditions of | 9 | | people of African descent is for the current Governor of the | 10 | | State of Illinois to act; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, The Governor must act to shape a narrowly tailored | 12 | | approach to drastically improve the housing stock, | 13 | | communities, and conditions of people of African descent | 14 | | residing in the State of Illinois; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Immediate affirmative action by the Governor is | 16 | | needed to counteract continuing conscious and unconscious | 17 | | biases and prejudices against people of African descent in the | 18 | | housing sector; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Such affirmative action in Illinois would not rise | 20 | | to the level of discrimination against other minorities, as no | 21 | | other minority group, apart from people of African descent, was |
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| 1 | | enslaved in the State of Illinois from as early as 1720; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Moreover, no other minority group was | 3 | | discriminated against by being subjected to separate Slave | 4 | | Codes in Illinois; to that end, no other minority group was | 5 | | required in an apartheid-like fashion to produce a Certificate | 6 | | of Freedom and proof of a behavior bond to travel in public in | 7 | | Illinois; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Furthermore, no other minority group in Illinois | 9 | | was discriminated against by being subject to Jim Crow laws and | 10 | | in many cases victims of Lynch Law, where they were hung, shot, | 11 | | burned at the stake, castrated, beaten with clubs, or | 12 | | dismembered; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Further still, no other minority group was | 14 | | discriminated against by being subject to redlining and | 15 | | restrictive covenants in Illinois' housing sector; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Finally, no other minority group, apart from | 17 | | people of African descent, was discriminated against by being | 18 | | subject to the greatest exposure to air toxicity, air | 19 | | pollution, and other environmental health hazards; therefore, | 20 | | be it
| 21 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE |
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| 1 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 2 | | it is in the best interest of the people of Illinois for the | 3 | | Governor of the State of Illinois to immediately act to shape a | 4 | | narrowly tailored approach to drastically improve the housing | 5 | | stock, communities, and conditions of and for people of African | 6 | | descent residing in the State of Illinois; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Governor of the State of | 8 | | Illinois and the Illinois General Assembly to invoke the | 9 | | principles of the Equitable Economic Land Use Plan of 2020 with | 10 | | all deliberate speed; and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That there is an immediate need for legislation, | 12 | | emergency rules, and/or a gubernatorial executive order to (1) | 13 | | authorize funding and matching grants to municipalities and | 14 | | private investors for the construction of housing, commercial | 15 | | real estate, microgrids, water, sewer, gas, broadband | 16 | | technology, and clean energy generation and storage in | 17 | | low-income communities, (2) authorize funding and matching | 18 | | grants to municipalities and private investors for urban | 19 | | beautification, greenspace, and community gardens in | 20 | | low-income communities, (3) create heightened home equity | 21 | | taxing districts, opportunity zones, empowerment zones, | 22 | | enterprise zones, tax increment financing districts, and | 23 | | Special Service Areas in low-income communities, and (4) | 24 | | authorize funding and matching grants to municipalities and |
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| 1 | | private investors to construct community centers, grocery | 2 | | stores, gymnasiums, and natatoriums in low-income communities; | 3 | | and be it further | 4 | | RESOLVED, That there is long term need for legislation, | 5 | | emergency rules, and/or a gubernatorial executive order to (1) | 6 | | fund existing and created housing programs for people of | 7 | | African descent which shall include, but shall not be limited | 8 | | to, professional services, property tax relief, and navigators | 9 | | of and counselors for the land use process, (2) provide rent | 10 | | subsidies for elderly and disabled people of African descent, | 11 | | (3) provide specific property tax relief for the elderly and | 12 | | disabled people of African descent, (4) provide property tax | 13 | | relief for adults 21 years of age to 18 years of age for people | 14 | | of African descent, (5) enable people of African descent to | 15 | | make no or very low down payments to obtain mortgages; to | 16 | | authorize funding in conjunction with the Creating American | 17 | | Investment, Redevelopment, and Opportunity (CAIRO) Task Force | 18 | | Act to address the housing crisis in Cairo, (6) underwrite and | 19 | | secure mortgages for people of African descent who choose to | 20 | | reside in a census tract designated by the Equitable Economic | 21 | | Land Use Plan of 2020, (7) authorize the acquisition of real | 22 | | estate designated by the Equitable Economic Land Use Plan of | 23 | | 2020 via eminent domain and quick take authority, (8) partner | 24 | | regularly with the Chicago Department of Planning and | 25 | | Development (DPD) to provide insight and information regarding |
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| 1 | | their efforts to invest in communities of persons of African | 2 | | descent, and (9) appoint an Emergency Task Force to facilitate | 3 | | the purposes of the Equitable Economic Land Use Plan of 2020; | 4 | | and be it further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That there is long term need for legislation, | 6 | | emergency rules, and/or a gubernatorial executive order to | 7 | | reform the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure and the Mortgage | 8 | | Act and to further fund existing and created housing programs | 9 | | that will assist people of African descent in the facilitation | 10 | | of the Equitable Economic Land Use Plan of 2020; and be it | 11 | | further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That the real property in census tracts | 13 | | designated by the Equitable Economic Land Use Plan of 2020 | 14 | | should be valued as of July 1, 2020 and should be based upon | 15 | | its fair cash market value at its highest and best use on July | 16 | | 1, 2020 for purposes of the Equitable Economic Land Use Plan of | 17 | | 2020; and be it further | 18 | | RESOLVED, That because Pierre Menard was a slaveowner in | 19 | | the Metro East, the name of the Menard Correctional Center | 20 | | should revert back to the Southern Illinois Penitentiary; and | 21 | | be it further
| 22 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be |
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| 1 | | delivered to Governor JB Pritzker, House Speaker Michael | 2 | | Madigan, Senate President Don Harmon, House Minority Leader Jim | 3 | | Durkin, Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, U.S. Senator Dick | 4 | | Durbin, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, Chicago Mayor Lori | 5 | | Lightfoot, Cairo Mayor Tyrone Coleman, East St. Louis Mayor | 6 | | Robert Eastern III, the Illinois Department of Commerce and | 7 | | Economic Opportunity, the Illinois Department of Corrections, | 8 | | and the Illinois Housing Development Authority.
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