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1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The series of debates between Stephen A. Douglas | ||||||
3 | and Abraham Lincoln in their 1858 bid for an Illinois United | ||||||
4 | States Senate seat is a significant example of the role of | ||||||
5 | public discussion and debate of issues by candidates before the | ||||||
6 | electorate; and
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7 | WHEREAS, 2008 will mark the 150th anniversary of what is | ||||||
8 | now seen as
the greatest political debates in the United States | ||||||
9 | in the nineteenth century, leading to the eventual election of | ||||||
10 | Abraham Lincoln to the office of President of the United | ||||||
11 | States; and
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12 | WHEREAS, The seven Illinois communities which hosted the | ||||||
13 | original debates are Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, | ||||||
14 | Galesburg, Quincy, and Alton, meeting together as the | ||||||
15 | Lincoln-Douglas Debates Sesquicentennial Collation, and with | ||||||
16 | the assistance of the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition, | ||||||
17 | are making coordinated and comprehensive plans for fitting | ||||||
18 | commemorative activities during the Sesquicentennial year, | ||||||
19 | including: traveling museum exhibits, a program of Lincoln and | ||||||
20 | Douglas portrayers to present background on the debates, with a | ||||||
21 | modern political context as a means of explication for today's | ||||||
22 | citizens that is to be presented in the seven debates cities, | ||||||
23 | plus Springfield, Chicago, and Bement, a coordinated calendar |
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1 | of activities to be promulgated to the general public through a | ||||||
2 | single brochure and a single website, the issuance of | ||||||
3 | commemorative collector coins, and the hosting of a | ||||||
4 | commemorative national high school debate tournament; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Several State agencies, the Abraham Lincoln | ||||||
6 | Presidential Library and Museum, the Governor's Rural Affairs | ||||||
7 | Council, the Illinois Bureau of Tourism, and the Illinois | ||||||
8 | Historic Preservation Agency, as well as the Lincoln-Douglas | ||||||
9 | Society, the Stephen A. Douglas Association, the Abraham | ||||||
10 | Lincoln Association, the National Forensic League, the | ||||||
11 | Illinois High School Association, and the Illinois Speech and | ||||||
12 | Theater Association, have already engaged in assisting the | ||||||
13 | Lincoln-Douglas Debates Sesquicentennial Collation in planning | ||||||
14 | activities for the Sesquicentennial year; and
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15 | WHEREAS, A well-coordinated series of activities and | ||||||
16 | programs during 2008 will serve as preliminary attractions for | ||||||
17 | tourism in and to Illinois in anticipation of the 2009 | ||||||
18 | programming being planned for the bicentennial of Abraham | ||||||
19 | Lincoln's birth; therefore, be it
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20 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | ||||||
21 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | ||||||
22 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Department of Commerce and | ||||||
23 | Economic Opportunity shall be designated as the agency within |
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1 | the State's executive branch to work with the Lincoln-Douglas | ||||||
2 | Debates Sesquicentennial Collation for the purposes of further | ||||||
3 | planning and implementation of Sesquicentennial activities and
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4 | recommending to the Illinois General Assembly such budgets and | ||||||
5 | funding requests as shall be deemed appropriate to insure the | ||||||
6 | smooth implementation of the previously developed, as well as | ||||||
7 | any future plans for commemorating the Sesquicentennial of the | ||||||
8 | Lincoln-Douglas Debates in Illinois; and be it further
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9 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
10 | transmitted to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and | ||||||
11 | Museum, the Governor's Rural Affairs Council, the Illinois | ||||||
12 | Bureau of Tourism, and the Illinois Historic Preservation | ||||||
13 | Agency, as well as the Lincoln-Douglas Society, the Stephen A. | ||||||
14 | Douglas Association, the Abraham Lincoln Association, the | ||||||
15 | National Forensic League, the Illinois High School | ||||||
16 | Association, and the Illinois Speech and Theater Association, | ||||||
17 | as well as to all of the constitutional officers of the State | ||||||
18 | of Illinois, and the Governor's Illinois Abraham Lincoln | ||||||
19 | Bicentennial Commission.
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