Bill Text: IL HR0801 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Supports legislation and initiatives by the U.S. Congress to honor the pledge made to place Harriet Tubman's image on the $20 bill by 2020.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-03 - Referred to Rules Committee [HR0801 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HR0801-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, In 2015, the United States Treasury Department
announced a plan to place a woman on a currency note during the
implementation of security and anti-counterfeiting measures
along with the redesign process of the $20, $10 and $5 bills;
and
WHEREAS, More than one million citizens expressed their
opinion and made hundreds of suggestions to then Treasury
Secretary Jacob J. Lew; and
WHEREAS, On April 20, 2016, Secretary Lew announced that
the women's suffrage movement would be honored on the back of
the redesigned $10 bill through depictions of Lucretia Mott,
Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
Alice Paul for their contributions in shaping the history of
this country; and
WHEREAS, Secretary Lew added that honoring the advancement
in the Civil Rights Movement would focus on events at the
Lincoln Memorial on the back of the new $5 bill, and Harriet
Tubman would appear on the front of the new $20 bill; and
WHEREAS, According to the Harriet Tubman Historical
Society, Tubman was born Araminta Ross around 1822 in

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Dorchester County, Maryland; and
WHEREAS, Born into slavery, Tubman was forced to endure
horrible living conditions and severe beatings while being
forced to work under brutal and unconscionable labor conditions
for the slave owners' families and in the fields of the
plantations; and
WHEREAS, After successfully escaping to the north through
the assistance of the Underground Railroad in 1849, Tubman
returned to the south and helped to free hundreds of slaves
through the Underground Railroad; and
WHEREAS, Tubman's persistence and bravery continued as she
worked for the Union Army during the Civil War as a cook,
nurse, scout, spy, and as a leader in the women's suffrage
movement; and
WHEREAS, Tubman remained steadfast in her efforts toward
freedom and equality until her death in 1913 in Auburn, New
York; and
WHEREAS, Considering the exemplary life led by this
American heroine, the nation overwhelmingly chose Tubman over
any other individual female to receive the honor of being
placed on the $20 bill; and

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WHEREAS, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the passage
of the 19th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States
that gave women the right to vote, Secretary Mnuchin should
maintain the original plan and redesign schedule and release
the new currencies along with the added security measures in
2020; and
WHEREAS, the decade-long delay imposed by Secretary
Mnuchin in the implementation of these changes shows blatant
disrespect for the former administration and the will of the
American people; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we support legislation and initiatives by the U.S. Congress to
honor the pledge made to place Harriet Tubman's image on the
$20 bill by 2020; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we urge President Trump and Secretary
Mnuchin to reconsider the decision to delay the release of the
new design of the $20 note and work to release the note with
Harriet Tubman as soon as possible; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
the President of the United States, the Vice President of the

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United States, members of the United States House of
Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal
and state government officials and agencies as appropriate.