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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the
3United States specifically provides that, "The powers not
4delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
5prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
6respectively, or to the people"; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment was part of the original Bill
8of Rights, which was proposed on September 25, 1789, ratified
9by three-fourths of the states, and went into effect on
10December 15, 1791; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment limits the scope of federal
12power and prescribes that the federal government was created by
13the states specifically to be an agent of the states, rather
14than the states being agents of the federal government; and
 
15    WHEREAS, When taking the oath of office, all members of the
16Illinois General Assembly solemnly swear that they will support
17the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of
18the State of Illinois; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Many federal mandates are in direct violation of
20the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
21and infringe upon both Illinois' reserve powers and the

 

 

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1people's reserved powers; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court ruled in New York
3v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992), that Congress may not
4simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of
5the states by compelling them to enact and enforce regulatory
6programs; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court, in Printz v.
8United States/Mack v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997),
9reaffirmed that the Constitution of the United States
10established a system of "dual sovereignty" that retains "a
11residuary and inviolable sovereignty" by the states;
12therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
15the State of Illinois hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth
16Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all
17powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal
18government by the Constitution of the United States; and be it
19further
 
20    RESOLVED, That this resolution shall serve notice to the
21federal government of our demand to maintain the balance of
22powers where the Constitution of the United States established

 

 

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1it; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That we state our intentions to ensure that all
3government agencies and their agents and employees operating
4within the geographic boundaries of the State of Illinois, or
5whose actions have an effect on the inhabitants, lands, or
6water of Illinois, shall operate within the confines of the
7original intent of the Constitution of the United States; and
8be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
10delivered to the President of the United States, the President
11pro tempore of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the
12United States House of Representatives, and each member of the
13Illinois congressional delegation.