Bill Text: IL HJR0019 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Petitions Congress to call a U.S. Constitutional Convention.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-18 - Referred to Rules Committee [HJR0019 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-HJR0019-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Our founding fathers declared independence from | ||||||
3 | Great Britain after suffering from
violations of their rights | ||||||
4 | and the abuses of taxation from the British government as a
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5 | result of hereditary rule; and
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6 | WHEREAS, After seeing firsthand the abominable effects of | ||||||
7 | single, long-term rule our
founding fathers chose | ||||||
8 | republicanism instead of a monarchy and hereditary rule; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Even before the United States Constitution was | ||||||
10 | drafted, the founding fathers
believed in terms limits, as the | ||||||
11 | Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 set a maximum service
of 3 | ||||||
12 | years in the Pennsylvania General Assembly followed by a | ||||||
13 | mandatory 4-year break; and
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14 | WHEREAS, During the Constitutional Convention, Thomas | ||||||
15 | Jefferson urged term limits as part
of law "to prevent every | ||||||
16 | danger which might arise to American freedom by
continuing too | ||||||
17 | long in office the members of the Continental Congress"; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson's sentiment was established in | ||||||
19 | the Articles of Confederation as
"no person shall be capable of | ||||||
20 | being a delegate [to the Continental Congress] for more
than 3 | ||||||
21 | years in any term of 6 years"; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Although term limits were not written into the | ||||||
2 | Constitution, President George
Washington established a | ||||||
3 | precedent for a 2-term rule, as he left office despite public
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4 | urging that he remain in office; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Lack of term limits has placed a great strain on | ||||||
6 | state governments, as well as the
United States Congress, as | ||||||
7 | long-serving members have forgotten the wise words of our
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8 | founding fathers and legislative politics has taken a more | ||||||
9 | encompassing role than that of
citizens' needs; and
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10 | WHEREAS, A lack of term limits contributes to one-party | ||||||
11 | rule, a travesty that is further
enhanced by electoral district | ||||||
12 | boundaries drawn by state legislatures; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Redistricting of electoral district boundaries, | ||||||
14 | when done by state legislatures, leads
to legislative politics | ||||||
15 | as members try to maintain power; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Electoral district boundaries should be drawn by | ||||||
17 | an independent entity, without
thought of political party; and
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18 | WHEREAS, In an effort to reduce the role of large private | ||||||
19 | contributions in Presidential elections,
Congress created a | ||||||
20 | public funding program that uses tax dollars to match the first |
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1 | $250 of
each individual contribution that an eligible | ||||||
2 | Presidential candidate receives during the
primary campaign to | ||||||
3 | fund the major-party nominees' general election campaigns
and | ||||||
4 | to assist eligible minor-party nominees; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Many states have seen the influence of large | ||||||
6 | private contributions in state elections,
and many of those | ||||||
7 | contributors expect payback in the form of earmarks, contracts, | ||||||
8 | or
plum government appointments; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Because of the corrupting influence of money, many | ||||||
10 | Americans have lost faith in
politics and government; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution | ||||||
12 | requires the United States Congress to
call a convention for | ||||||
13 | proposing amendments upon application of two-thirds of the
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14 | legislatures of the several states for the purpose of proposing | ||||||
15 | amendments to the United
States Constitution; and
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16 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois sees the need for a | ||||||
17 | convention to propose amendments in order
to address concerns, | ||||||
18 | including those raised by the lack of term limits, the practice | ||||||
19 | of
redistricting established by state legislatures, and the | ||||||
20 | influence of large private contributions
in state elections; | ||||||
21 | and
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1 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois desires that the delegates | ||||||
2 | to the convention be
composed equally of individuals currently | ||||||
3 | elected to State and local office or be
selected by election in | ||||||
4 | each Congressional district for the purpose of serving as | ||||||
5 | delegates; however, all individuals elected or appointed to | ||||||
6 | federal office, now or in the past, shall be
prohibited from | ||||||
7 | serving as delegates to the Convention; the State of Illinois | ||||||
8 | intends to retain the ability to
restrict or expand the power | ||||||
9 | of its delegates within the limits expressed above; and
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10 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois intends that this be a | ||||||
11 | continuing application, considered
together with applications | ||||||
12 | calling for a convention and all others passed, pending, and
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13 | future applications, the aforementioned concerns of Illinois | ||||||
14 | notwithstanding until such
time as two-thirds of the several | ||||||
15 | states have applied for a Convention and that
Convention is | ||||||
16 | convened by Congress; therefore, be it
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17 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
18 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
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19 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN,
that we hereby make application to | ||||||
20 | the Congress, under the provisions of Article V of the | ||||||
21 | Constitution of the United States, for the calling of a | ||||||
22 | convention for proposing amendments; and be it further
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23 | RESOLVED, That this application be deemed an application |
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1 | for a convention to address each
or any of the subjects listed | ||||||
2 | in this resolution; for purposes of determining whether | ||||||
3 | two-thirds
of the states have applied for a convention | ||||||
4 | addressing any subject, this application
is to be aggregated | ||||||
5 | with the applications of any other state legislatures limited | ||||||
6 | to one or
more of the subjects listed in this resolution; and | ||||||
7 | be it further
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8 | RESOLVED, That this resolution constitutes a continuing | ||||||
9 | application and remains in effect until
repeal by any sitting | ||||||
10 | session of the legislature of this State; this application does | ||||||
11 | not
constitute a recognition that any particular activity or | ||||||
12 | activities currently undertaken by
the federal government is or | ||||||
13 | are authorized by the Constitution; and be it further
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14 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
15 | delivered to the President and Secretary
of the United States | ||||||
16 | Senate; the Speaker and Clerk of the House of Representatives | ||||||
17 | of the
United States Congress; the Archivist of the United | ||||||
18 | States; the members of the
United States Senate and House of | ||||||
19 | Representatives from this State; and the presiding
officers of | ||||||
20 | each of the legislative chambers in the several states, | ||||||
21 | requesting their
cooperation.
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