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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, On November 7, 2017, the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives and the Illinois Senate adopted House Joint | ||||||
| 4 | Resolution 83 which urged action to address the issue of sexual | ||||||
| 5 | harassment in Springfield and throughout Illinois State | ||||||
| 6 | government; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, House Joint Resolution 83 resolved that "those | ||||||
| 8 | supporting this resolution are committed to saying #IWILL do | ||||||
| 9 | better and I will work with my colleagues to change the culture | ||||||
| 10 | that breeds such behavior"; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Since the adoption of House Joint Resolution 83, | ||||||
| 12 | the Illinois General Assembly has not done better; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Since the adoption of House Joint Resolution 83, | ||||||
| 14 | new allegations of sexual harassment and abuse in and around | ||||||
| 15 | Illinois State government and political campaign organizations | ||||||
| 16 | continue to be made public on a regular basis, diminishing the | ||||||
| 17 | integrity of the Illinois General Assembly and the State of | ||||||
| 18 | Illinois; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, Since the adoption of House Joint Resolution 83, | ||||||
| 20 | it has become public that allegations of sexual harassment, | ||||||
| 21 | abuse and misconduct continue to be mishandled and minimized by | ||||||
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| 1 | the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and his | ||||||
| 2 | staff and attorneys; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, Since the adoption of House Joint Resolution 83, | ||||||
| 4 | there has been a lack of transparency from the Speaker of the | ||||||
| 5 | Illinois House of Representatives and his staff and attorneys | ||||||
| 6 | and an apparent effort to use propaganda to divert attention | ||||||
| 7 | from very serious and troubling allegations of sexual | ||||||
| 8 | harassment, abuse, and misconduct; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Since the adoption of House Joint Resolution 83, | ||||||
| 10 | it has become clear that the Speaker of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 11 | Representatives and his staff and attorneys should not be in | ||||||
| 12 | charge of investigating allegations of sexual harassment, | ||||||
| 13 | abuse, and misconduct; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, Calls have been made for an independent | ||||||
| 15 | investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, abuse, | ||||||
| 16 | and misconduct in Illinois State government and political | ||||||
| 17 | campaign organizations, yet no action has been taken on these | ||||||
| 18 | calls, and no process is in place to allow for a truly | ||||||
| 19 | independent investigation; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Since the adoption of House Joint Resolution 83, | ||||||
| 21 | it has become clear that an independent special counsel who is | ||||||
| 22 | in no way controlled by the Speaker of the Illinois House of | ||||||
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| 1 | Representatives, his staff, his attorneys, or anyone else under | ||||||
| 2 | the direct control of an Illinois government official is the | ||||||
| 3 | only way for a truly independent investigation to take place; | ||||||
| 4 | and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, The time has come for every legislator in the | ||||||
| 6 | Illinois House of Representatives to stand up for Illinois | ||||||
| 7 | citizens and demand the immediate appointment of an independent | ||||||
| 8 | special counsel to investigate and, where necessary, litigate | ||||||
| 9 | and prosecute, allegations of sexual harassment, abuse, and | ||||||
| 10 | misconduct; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Time is of the essence; therefore, be it
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| 12 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 13 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that those | ||||||
| 14 | supporting this resolution are committed to saying Time's Up | ||||||
| 15 | and are urging the immediate enactment of whatever legislation | ||||||
| 16 | is necessary to allow for the appointment of an independent | ||||||
| 17 | special counsel who is in no way controlled by the Speaker of | ||||||
| 18 | the Illinois House of Representatives, his staff, his | ||||||
| 19 | attorneys, or anyone else under the direct control of an | ||||||
| 20 | Illinois government official, as this is the only way for a | ||||||
| 21 | truly independent investigation to take place; and be it | ||||||
| 22 | further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That the independent special counsel shall have | ||||||
| 2 | the authority to issue subpoenas, command testimony under oath, | ||||||
| 3 | open a statewide grand jury, and investigate and, where | ||||||
| 4 | necessary, litigate and prosecute, allegations of sexual | ||||||
| 5 | harassment, abuse, and misconduct; and be it further
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| 6 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 7 | presented to every member of the General Assembly.
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