Full Text of HR0116 101st General Assembly
HR0116 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Members of religious, racial, and ethnic minority | 3 | | groups throughout Illinois are suffering from a continuing | 4 | | series of attacks and desecrations fueled by hate and | 5 | | intolerance; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reported a | 7 | | frightening 17 percent increase in hate crimes, a 37 percent | 8 | | increase in anti-Jewish offenses, and a 23 percent increase in | 9 | | overall religious-based crimes, resulting in the worse climate | 10 | | for religious-based crimes since the immediate period post | 11 | | September 11, 2001; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, 59.6 percent of hate crimes target their victims | 13 | | based on race, ethnicity, or ancestry with the FBI reporting a | 14 | | 16 percent increase in hate crimes targeting African Americans; | 15 | | and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Hate crimes have increased nationally each of the | 17 | | past three years, and every region of Illinois has experienced | 18 | | hate crimes and hate-fueled vandalism, including Sunset Hill | 19 | | Cemetery in Glen Carbon, where over 200 headstones and | 20 | | monuments were desecrated with spray-painted swastikas, the | 21 | | anti-Semitic swastika graffiti that targeted the Loop | 22 | | Synagogue in Chicago, the horrific, racist graffiti at Oak Park |
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| 1 | | River Forest High School, and the racist and white supremacist | 2 | | notes targeting students at Southern Illinois University | 3 | | Edwardsville; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Half of the hate crimes reported occur in Chicago, | 5 | | and 50 percent are reported elsewhere in the State; the | 6 | | Southern Poverty Law Center reports that there are 34 active | 7 | | hate groups in Illinois, throughout all regions, targeting | 8 | | nearly every race, religion, and sexual orientation; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Latino, immigrant, Asian-American, and Muslim | 10 | | communities throughout Illinois are reporting incidents of | 11 | | prejudice and intolerance; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, State and local law enforcement in Illinois report | 13 | | a surge in racial and religious vandalism and acts of violence | 14 | | in recent months; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Educators agree that tolerance and acceptance | 16 | | must be taught at an early age; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Illinois communities targeted by hatred have | 18 | | worked together throughout our State's history to help each | 19 | | other overcome intolerance; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Examples include Illinois residents of all |
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| 1 | | backgrounds and regions who joined the abolition movement in | 2 | | the 1800s, Jewish, Latino, and Asian-American community | 3 | | leaders who worked with African-American leaders during | 4 | | Chicago's civil rights and open housing movements, and leaders | 5 | | of diverse groups who stood in solidarity with Jewish leaders | 6 | | at Chicago's DuSable Museum of African American History | 7 | | following the killing of 11 people at the Tree of Life | 8 | | Synagogue in 2018; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The Simon Wiesenthal Center is a | 10 | | globally-recognized human rights organization that teaches the | 11 | | importance of tolerance and working in diverse Illinois | 12 | | communities; the center is named for Simon Wiesenthal, a | 13 | | holocaust survivor who had over 80 members of his family | 14 | | murdered by the Nazis, who went on to lead the global movement | 15 | | to hold Nazis accountable for their crimes; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The Simon Wiesenthal Center runs the acclaimed | 17 | | Museum of Tolerance, which has educated millions of students | 18 | | about the importance of fighting prejudice, as well as a | 19 | | successful mobile tolerance center, which brings these lessons | 20 | | to schools and other community locations; therefore, be it
| 21 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 22 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 23 | | we commend and support the Simon Wiesenthal Center on its |
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| 1 | | efforts to bring mobile tolerance education to communities | 2 | | throughout Illinois to help prevent further incidents of hate | 3 | | and discrimination.
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