Full Text of HR0181 101st General Assembly
HR0181 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR0181 | | LRB101 11549 ALS 57458 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate the staff and Board of | 4 | | Directors of the Citizen Advocacy Center in Elmhurst on the | 5 | | occasion of its 25th anniversary; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center opened to the public | 7 | | in 1994 and is an award-winning, non-profit, non-partisan free | 8 | | community legal organization that has been recognized at the | 9 | | local, state, and national levels; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center was founded by Theresa | 11 | | Amato, who served as the Center's first executive director for | 12 | | eight years and has been a member of the organization's | 13 | | dedicated Board of Directors for 25 years; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center dedicates itself to | 15 | | building democracy for the 21st century by strengthening the | 16 | | citizenry's capacities, resources, and institutions for | 17 | | self-governance; to advance its mission, the Center developed a | 18 | | pioneering community lawyer model that protects the public's | 19 | | assets, increases democratic protocols at every level of | 20 | | government, and develops the voice of the citizenry through a | 21 | | multi-faceted approach that includes community lawyering, | 22 | | organizing, policy analysis, legal advocacy, civic education, |
| | | HR0181 | - 2 - | LRB101 11549 ALS 57458 r |
|
| 1 | | coalition building, and litigation; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center advances reforms | 3 | | through efforts that start at the local level and become | 4 | | State-wide initiatives, where undemocratic barriers rooted in | 5 | | State law prevent or deter meaningful participation in the | 6 | | democratic process; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center is open to the public | 8 | | and offers a wide spectrum of services to further the | 9 | | citizenry's skills, confidence, and understanding of civic | 10 | | tools, to promote individual and community efforts to resolve | 11 | | issues of public concern, and to stimulate the citizenry's | 12 | | awareness of and action on issues of public significance; | 13 | | services include a library of free resource materials, legal | 14 | | and advocacy advice on matters of public concern from community | 15 | | lawyers, frequent discussion forums on local to statewide | 16 | | issues and the impact on community members, and civic and legal | 17 | | trainings for the public; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center is committed to making | 19 | | government more accountable, accessible, and transparent | 20 | | through improving access to areas such as government-held | 21 | | information and government institutions, the airwaves, the | 22 | | ballot, and the courts, to monitoring local government entities | 23 | | to insure accountability and to deter officials from acting |
| | | HR0181 | - 3 - | LRB101 11549 ALS 57458 r |
|
| 1 | | contrary to the general interest of the community, to providing | 2 | | journalism training on government issues, and to litigating on | 3 | | behalf of select causes to sustain access to justice; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center's pursuit of building | 5 | | democracy includes many public initiatives, such as the Civic | 6 | | Empowerment Zone with a library of resources, teacher and | 7 | | student trainings, and a hands-on internship program that has | 8 | | mentored hundreds of high school, college, and law students and | 9 | | includes the Public Access Counselor Rulings database, which | 10 | | makes more than 200 decisions immediately available to the | 11 | | public, various government audits that assess compliance with | 12 | | state laws or practices in areas such as election | 13 | | administration, the Freedom of Information Act, and the Open | 14 | | Meetings Act, and journalism education on policy issues and | 15 | | much more; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The Citizen Advocacy Center has contributed to | 17 | | advancing statewide reforms, including civic education, the | 18 | | Freedom of Information Act, the Open Meetings Act, access to | 19 | | the ballot, protecting the First Amendment Rights of the | 20 | | citizenry, tax increment financing, ethics, and campaign | 21 | | finance; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, The Board of Directors and staff of the Citizen | 23 | | Advocacy Center serve as a model of hard work, integrity, and |
| | | HR0181 | - 4 - | LRB101 11549 ALS 57458 r |
|
| 1 | | dedication for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, | 2 | | be it
| 3 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 4 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 5 | | we congratulate the administration and staff of the Citizen | 6 | | Advocacy Center on the occasion of its 25th anniversary and | 7 | | wish them continued success in the future; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 | | presented to the Citizen Advocacy Center as a symbol of our | 10 | | esteem and respect.
|
|