HR0128 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0128 LRB100 06127 MST 16159 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, President Barack H. Obama served as the 44th President of the United States of America from January 20, 2009 to January 20, 2017; and

WHEREAS, President Obama, the first African American elected to the American Presidency was born in Hawaii; he was the first President born out of the contiguous United States; and

WHEREAS, President Obama attended Occidental College in Los Angeles and graduated from Columbia College in New York in 1983; and

WHEREAS, President Obama worked as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago from June of 1985 to May of 1988; he entered Harvard Law School in the fall of 1988, returning to Chicago during summers, where he worked as an associate at various law firms; he permanently returned to Chicago in 1991 after earning his Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School; and

WHEREAS, President Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004; he also worked as a lawyer, specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development; and

WHEREAS, President Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996, representing the Illinois 13th District; he was re-elected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002; and

WHEREAS, President Obama was elected to represent Illinois in the United States Senate in 2004 with over 70% of the vote; and

WHEREAS, President Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States of America in February of 2007 from the steps of the Old State Capitol Building in Springfield, the site of President Abraham Lincoln's 1858 "House Divided" speech; he was elected President in 2008 with just under 53% of the popular vote; he was re-elected in 2012; and

WHEREAS, As President of the United States of America, President Obama has been a progressive leader on numerous issues including, domestic policy, LGBTQ rights, women's rights, healthcare, economic policy, environmental policy, energy, gun control, internet policy, and foreign policy; and

WHEREAS, President Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people; and

WHEREAS, President Obama is an avid fan of the Chicago White Sox; in 2011, he hosted the Chicago Bears at the White House to celebrate their 1985 Super Bowl victory; he hosted the Chicago Cubs at the White House to celebrate their 2016 World Series Championship as one of his last official acts as President; and

WHEREAS, The Barack Obama Presidential Center will be hosted by the University of Chicago and will be located in Jackson Park on the South Side of Chicago; once completed it will become the 14th site in the National Archives and Records Administration presidential library system; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare August 4, 2017 and August 4, 2018 as "President Barack Obama Day" in honor of the 44th President of the United States of America and in recognition of his historic and transformative presidency; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to President Obama as a symbol of our respect and esteem.