Full Text of HR1207 098th General Assembly
HR1207 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the | 4 | | Civil Rights Act of 1964; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The history of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 began | 6 | | with a speech from President John F. Kennedy on June 11, 1963, | 7 | | in which he asked for legislation "giving all Americans the | 8 | | right to be served in facilities which are open to the public - | 9 | | hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar | 10 | | establishments" and "greater protection for the right to vote"; | 11 | | on June 19, 1963, the president sent his bill to Congress as it | 12 | | was originally written, saying legislative action was | 13 | | "imperative"; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Upon the bill's entrance to the United States | 15 | | House of Representatives, it was referred to the Judiciary | 16 | | Committee, where, after a series of hearings on the bill, the | 17 | | committee strengthened the act, adding provisions to ban racial | 18 | | discrimination in employment, providing greater protection to | 19 | | black voters, eliminating segregation in all publicly owned | 20 | | facilities, and strengthening the anti-segregation clauses | 21 | | regarding public facilities such as lunch counters, as well as | 22 | | authorization for the Attorney General to file lawsuits to | 23 | | protect individuals against the deprivation of any rights |
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| 1 | | secured by the Constitution or federal law; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, President Kennedy called the congressional | 3 | | leaders to the White House in late October of 1963 to line up | 4 | | the necessary votes in the House for passage; the bill was | 5 | | reported out of the Judiciary Committee in November of 1963 and | 6 | | referred to the Rules Committee, where it was feared that the | 7 | | bill would stall; however, following the assassination of | 8 | | President Kennedy on November 22, 1963, the political situation | 9 | | changed and new President Lyndon Johnson came out in support of | 10 | | the bill; due to the diligent efforts of President Johnson and | 11 | | many others, the bill was allowed to pass through the Rules | 12 | | Committee and head toward the Senate; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Once the bill made it to the Senate, it faced | 14 | | great opposition by a group of Senators known as the "Southern | 15 | | Bloc"; 18 southern Democratic Senators and one Republican | 16 | | Senator led by Richard Russell (D-GA) launched a filibuster to | 17 | | prevent the passage of the bill; after 54 days of filibuster, a | 18 | | substitute bill was introduced the was able to attract enough | 19 | | Republican swing votes to end the filibuster; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, On June 19, 1964, the substitute bill passed the | 21 | | Senate by a vote of 73–27 and quickly passed through the | 22 | | House-Senate conference committee, which adopted the Senate | 23 | | version of the bill; following the conference bill's passage by |
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| 1 | | both houses of Congress, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was | 2 | | signed into law by President Johnson on July 2, 1964; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Today, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stands as one | 4 | | of the main foundations of the rule of law and the guarantees | 5 | | of freedom and equality as set forth in the United States | 6 | | Constitution; therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 8 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 9 | | we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of | 10 | | 1964 and urge the citizens of this State to take part in | 11 | | suitable celebrations and events celebrating the anniversary | 12 | | of this important event.
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