Full Text of HB0383 94th General Assembly
HB0383enr 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT establishing the Amistad Commission.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Act is | 5 |
| amended by adding Section 22 as follows: | 6 |
| (20 ILCS 3405/22 new)
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| Sec. 22. Amistad Commission. | 8 |
| (a) Purpose. The General Assembly finds and declares that | 9 |
| all people should know of and remember the human carnage and | 10 |
| dehumanizing atrocities committed during the period of the | 11 |
| African slave trade and slavery in America and of the vestiges | 12 |
| of slavery in this country; and it is in fact vital to educate | 13 |
| our citizens on these events, the legacy of slavery, the sad | 14 |
| history of racism in this country, and the principles of human | 15 |
| rights and dignity in a civilized society. | 16 |
| It is the policy of the State of Illinois that the history | 17 |
| of the African slave trade, slavery in America, the depth of | 18 |
| their impact in our society, and the triumphs of | 19 |
| African-Americans and their significant contributions to the | 20 |
| development of this country is the proper concern of all | 21 |
| people, particularly students enrolled in the schools of the | 22 |
| State of Illinois. | 23 |
| It is therefore desirable to create a Commission that, as | 24 |
| an organized body and on a continuous basis, will survey, | 25 |
| design, encourage, and promote the implementation of education | 26 |
| and awareness programs in Illinois that are concerned with the | 27 |
| African slave trade, slavery in America, the vestiges of | 28 |
| slavery in this country, and the contributions of | 29 |
| African-Americans in building our country; to develop | 30 |
| workshops, institutes, seminars, and other teacher training | 31 |
| activities designed to educate teachers on this subject matter; | 32 |
| and that will be responsible for the coordination of events on |
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| a regular basis, throughout the State, that provide appropriate | 2 |
| memorialization of the events concerning the enslavement of | 3 |
| Africans and their descendants in America and their struggle | 4 |
| for freedom, liberty, and equality. | 5 |
| (b) Amistad Commission. The Amistad Commission is created | 6 |
| within the Agency. The Commission is named to honor the group | 7 |
| of enslaved Africans transported in 1839 on a vessel named the | 8 |
| Amistad who overthrew their captors and created an | 9 |
| international incident that was eventually argued before the | 10 |
| Supreme Court and that shed a growing light on the evils of the | 11 |
| slave trade and galvanized a growing abolitionist movement | 12 |
| towards demanding the end of slavery in the United States. | 13 |
| (c) Membership. The Commission shall consist of 15 members, | 14 |
| including 3 ex officio members: the State Superintendent of | 15 |
| Education or
his or her designee, the Director of Commerce and | 16 |
| Economic Opportunity or his or her designee, and the Director | 17 |
| of Historic Sites and Preservation or his or her designee; and | 18 |
| 12 public
members. Public members shall be appointed as | 19 |
| follows: | 20 |
| (i) 2 members appointed by the President of the Senate | 21 |
| and one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the | 22 |
| Senate;
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| (ii) 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the House of | 24 |
| Representatives and one member appointed by the Minority | 25 |
| Leader of the House of Representatives; and
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| (iii) 6 members, no more than 4 of whom shall be of the | 27 |
| same political party, appointed by the Governor.
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| The public members shall be residents of this State, chosen | 29 |
| with due regard to broad geographic representation and ethnic | 30 |
| diversity, who have served actively in organizations that | 31 |
| educate the public on the history of the African slave trade, | 32 |
| the contributions of African-Americans to our society, and | 33 |
| civil rights issues. | 34 |
| Each public member of the Commission shall serve for a term | 35 |
| of 3 years, except that of the initial members so appointed: | 36 |
| one member appointed by the President of the Senate, one member |
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| appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and 2 | 2 |
| members appointed by the Governor shall serve for terms of one | 3 |
| year; the member appointed by the Minority Leader of the | 4 |
| Senate, one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of | 5 |
| Representatives, and 2 members appointed by the Governor shall | 6 |
| serve for terms of 2 years; and one member appointed by the | 7 |
| President of the Senate, the member appointed by the Minority | 8 |
| Leader of the House of Representatives, and 2 members appointed | 9 |
| by the Governor shall serve for terms of 3 years. Public | 10 |
| members shall be eligible for reappointment. They shall serve | 11 |
| until their successors are appointed and qualified, and the | 12 |
| term of the successor of any incumbent shall be calculated from | 13 |
| the expiration of the term of that incumbent. A vacancy | 14 |
| occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled in | 15 |
| the same manner as the original appointment, but for the | 16 |
| unexpired term only. | 17 |
| (d) Election of chairperson; meetings. At its first meeting | 18 |
| and annually thereafter, the Commission shall elect from among | 19 |
| its members a chairperson and other officers it considers | 20 |
| necessary or appropriate. After its first meeting, the | 21 |
| Commission shall meet at least quarterly, or more frequently at | 22 |
| the call of the chairperson or if requested by 9 or more | 23 |
| members. | 24 |
| (e) Quorum. A majority of the members of the Commission | 25 |
| constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at a | 26 |
| meeting of the Commission. A majority of the members present | 27 |
| and serving is required for official action of the Commission. | 28 |
| (f) Public meeting. All business that the Commission is | 29 |
| authorized to perform shall be conducted at a public meeting of | 30 |
| the Commission, held in compliance with the Open Meetings Act. | 31 |
| (g) Freedom of Information. A writing prepared, owned, | 32 |
| used, in the possession of, or retained by the Commission in | 33 |
| the performance of an official function is subject to the | 34 |
| Freedom of Information Act. | 35 |
| (h) Compensation. The members of the Commission shall serve | 36 |
| without compensation, but shall be entitled to reimbursement |
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| for all necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their | 2 |
| official duties as members of the Commission from funds | 3 |
| appropriated for that purpose. Reimbursement for travel, | 4 |
| meals, and lodging shall be in accordance with the rules of the | 5 |
| Governor's Travel Control Board. | 6 |
| (i) Duties. The Commission shall have the following | 7 |
| responsibilities and duties:
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| (1) To provide, based upon the collective interest of | 9 |
| the members and the knowledge and experience of the | 10 |
| members, assistance and advice to schools within the State | 11 |
| with respect to the implementation of education, awareness | 12 |
| programs, textbooks, and educational materials concerned | 13 |
| with the African slave trade, slavery in America, the | 14 |
| vestiges of slavery in this country, and the contributions | 15 |
| of African-Americans to our society. | 16 |
| (2) To survey and catalog the extent and breadth of | 17 |
| education concerning the African slave trade, slavery in | 18 |
| America, the vestiges of slavery in this country, and the | 19 |
| contributions of African-Americans to our society | 20 |
| presently being incorporated into the curricula and | 21 |
| textbooks and taught in the school systems of the State; to | 22 |
| inventory those African slave trade, American slavery, or | 23 |
| relevant African-American history memorials, exhibits, and | 24 |
| resources that should be incorporated into courses of study | 25 |
| at educational institutions, schools, and various other | 26 |
| locations throughout the State; and to assist the State | 27 |
| Board of Education and
other State and educational agencies | 28 |
| in the development and implementation of African slave | 29 |
| trade, American slavery, and African-American history | 30 |
| education programs. | 31 |
| (3) To act as a liaison with textbook publishers, | 32 |
| schools, public, private, and nonprofit resource | 33 |
| organizations,
and members of the United States Senate and | 34 |
| House of
Representatives and the Illinois Senate and House | 35 |
| of Representatives in
order to facilitate the inclusion of | 36 |
| the history of African slavery and
of African-Americans in |
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| this country in the curricula of public and
nonpublic | 2 |
| schools. | 3 |
| (4) To compile a roster of individual volunteers who | 4 |
| are willing to share their knowledge and experience in | 5 |
| classrooms, seminars, and workshops with students and | 6 |
| teachers on the subject of the African slave trade, | 7 |
| American slavery, the impact of slavery on our society | 8 |
| today, and the contributions of African-Americans to our | 9 |
| country. | 10 |
| (5) To coordinate events memorializing the African | 11 |
| slave trade, American slavery, and the history of | 12 |
| African-Americans in this country that reflect the | 13 |
| contributions of African-Americans in overcoming the | 14 |
| burdens of slavery and its vestiges, and to seek volunteers | 15 |
| who are willing and able to participate in commemorative | 16 |
| events that will enhance student awareness of the | 17 |
| significance of the African slave trade, American slavery, | 18 |
| its historical impact, and the struggle for freedom. | 19 |
| (6) To prepare reports for the Governor and the General | 20 |
| Assembly regarding its findings and recommendations on | 21 |
| facilitating the inclusion of the African slave trade, | 22 |
| American slavery studies, African-American history, and | 23 |
| special programs in the educational system of the State.
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| (7) To develop, in consultation with the State Board of | 25 |
| Education, curriculum guidelines that will be made | 26 |
| available to every school board for the teaching of | 27 |
| information on the African slave trade, slavery in America, | 28 |
| the vestiges of slavery in this country, and the | 29 |
| contributions of African-Americans to our country.
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| (8) To solicit, receive, and accept appropriations, | 31 |
| gifts, and donations for Commission operations and | 32 |
| programs authorized under this Section.
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| (j) Commission requests for assistance. The Commission is | 34 |
| authorized to call upon any department, office, division, or | 35 |
| agency of the State, or of any county, municipality, or school | 36 |
| district of the State, to supply such data, program reports, |
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| and other information, appropriate school personnel, and | 2 |
| assistance as it deems necessary to discharge its | 3 |
| responsibilities under this Act. These departments, offices, | 4 |
| divisions, and agencies shall, to the extent possible and not | 5 |
| inconsistent with any other law of this State, cooperate with | 6 |
| the Commission and shall furnish it with such information, | 7 |
| appropriate school personnel, and assistance as may be | 8 |
| necessary or helpful to accomplish the purposes of this Act.
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| (k) State Board of Education assistance. The State Board of | 10 |
| Education shall: | 11 |
| (1) Assist the Amistad Commission in marketing and | 12 |
| distributing to educators, administrators, and school | 13 |
| districts in the State educational information and other | 14 |
| materials on the African slave trade, slavery in America, | 15 |
| the vestiges of slavery in this country, and the | 16 |
| contributions of African-Americans to our society. | 17 |
| (2) Conduct at least one teacher workshop annually on | 18 |
| the African slave trade, slavery in America, the vestiges | 19 |
| of slavery in this country, and the contributions of | 20 |
| African-Americans to our society. | 21 |
| (3) Assist the Amistad Commission in monitoring the | 22 |
| inclusion of slavery materials and curricula in the State's | 23 |
| educational system. | 24 |
| (4) Consult with the Amistad Commission to determine | 25 |
| ways it may survey, catalog, and extend slave trade and | 26 |
| American slavery education presently being taught in the | 27 |
| State's educational system. | 28 |
| The State Board of Education may, subject to the | 29 |
| availability of appropriations, hire additional staff and | 30 |
| consultants to carry out the duties and responsibilities | 31 |
| provided within this subsection (k). | 32 |
| (l) Report. The Commission shall report its activities and | 33 |
| findings, as required under subsection (i), to the Governor and | 34 |
| General Assembly on or before June 30, 2006, and biannually | 35 |
| thereafter.
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HB0383 Enrolled |
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| Section 10. The School Code is amended by changing Section | 2 |
| 27-20.4 as follows:
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| (105 ILCS 5/27-20.4) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-20.4)
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| Sec. 27-20.4. Black History Study. Every public elementary | 5 |
| school and
high school shall include in its curriculum a unit | 6 |
| of instruction studying
the events of Black History , including | 7 |
| the history of the African slave trade, slavery in America, and | 8 |
| the vestiges of slavery in this country . These events shall | 9 |
| include not only the
contributions made by individual | 10 |
| African-Americans in government and in the
arts, humanities and | 11 |
| sciences to the economic, cultural and political
development of | 12 |
| the United States and Africa, but also the socio-economic
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| struggle which African-Americans experienced collectively in | 14 |
| striving to
achieve fair and equal treatment under the laws of | 15 |
| this nation. The
studying of this material shall constitute an | 16 |
| affirmation by students of
their commitment to respect the | 17 |
| dignity of all races and peoples and to
forever eschew every | 18 |
| form of discrimination in their lives and careers.
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| The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make | 20 |
| available to
all school boards instructional materials , | 21 |
| including those established by the Amistad Commission, which | 22 |
| may be used as guidelines
for development of a unit of | 23 |
| instruction under this Section; provided,
however, that each | 24 |
| school board shall itself determine the minimum amount
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| instruction time which shall qualify as a unit of instruction | 26 |
| satisfying
the requirements of this Section.
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| (Source: P.A. 86-1256.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 29 |
| becoming law.
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