|
|||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 39 | ||||||
2 | (As Amended by Senate Amendment No. 1)
| ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, The series of debates between Stephen A. Douglas | ||||||
4 | and Abraham Lincoln in their 1858 bid for an Illinois United | ||||||
5 | States Senate seat is a significant example of the role of | ||||||
6 | public discussion and debate of issues by candidates before the | ||||||
7 | electorate; and
| ||||||
8 | WHEREAS, 2008 will mark the 150th anniversary of what is | ||||||
9 | now seen as
the greatest political debates in the United States | ||||||
10 | in the nineteenth century, leading to the eventual election of | ||||||
11 | Abraham Lincoln to the office of President of the United | ||||||
12 | States; and
| ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, The seven Illinois communities which hosted the | ||||||
14 | original debates are Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, | ||||||
15 | Galesburg, Quincy, and Alton, meeting together as the | ||||||
16 | Lincoln-Douglas Debates Sesquicentennial Collation, and with | ||||||
17 | the assistance of the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition, | ||||||
18 | are making coordinated and comprehensive plans for fitting | ||||||
19 | commemorative activities during the Sesquicentennial year, | ||||||
20 | including: traveling museum exhibits, a program of Lincoln and | ||||||
21 | Douglas portrayers to present background on the debates, with a | ||||||
22 | modern political context as a means of explication for today's | ||||||
23 | citizens that is to be presented in the seven debates cities, |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | plus Springfield, Chicago, and Bement, a coordinated calendar | ||||||
2 | of activities to be promulgated to the general public through a | ||||||
3 | single brochure and a single website, the issuance of | ||||||
4 | commemorative collector coins, and the hosting of a | ||||||
5 | commemorative national high school debate tournament; and
| ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, Several State agencies, the Abraham Lincoln | ||||||
7 | Presidential Library and Museum, the Governor's Rural Affairs | ||||||
8 | Council, the Illinois Bureau of Tourism, the Illinois State | ||||||
9 | Historical Society, and the Illinois Historic Preservation | ||||||
10 | Agency, as well as the Lincoln-Douglas Society, the Stephen A. | ||||||
11 | Douglas Association, the Abraham Lincoln Association, the | ||||||
12 | National Forensic League, the Illinois High School | ||||||
13 | Association, and the Illinois Speech and Theater Association, | ||||||
14 | have already engaged in assisting the Lincoln-Douglas Debates | ||||||
15 | Sesquicentennial Collation in planning activities for the | ||||||
16 | Sesquicentennial year; and
| ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, A well-coordinated series of activities and | ||||||
18 | programs during 2008 will serve as preliminary attractions for | ||||||
19 | tourism in and to Illinois in anticipation of the 2009 | ||||||
20 | programming being planned for the bicentennial of Abraham | ||||||
21 | Lincoln's birth; therefore, be it
| ||||||
22 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | ||||||
23 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Department of Commerce and | ||||||
2 | Economic Opportunity shall be designated as the agency within | ||||||
3 | the State's executive branch to work with the Lincoln-Douglas | ||||||
4 | Debates Sesquicentennial Collation for the purposes of further | ||||||
5 | planning and implementation of Sesquicentennial activities and
| ||||||
6 | recommending to the Illinois General Assembly such budgets and | ||||||
7 | funding requests as shall be deemed appropriate to insure the | ||||||
8 | smooth implementation of the previously developed, as well as | ||||||
9 | any future plans for commemorating the Sesquicentennial of the | ||||||
10 | Lincoln-Douglas Debates in Illinois; and be it further
| ||||||
11 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
12 | transmitted to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and | ||||||
13 | Museum, the Governor's Rural Affairs Council, the Illinois | ||||||
14 | Bureau of Tourism, the Illinois State Historical Society, and | ||||||
15 | the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, as well as the | ||||||
16 | Lincoln-Douglas Society, the Stephen A. Douglas Association, | ||||||
17 | the Abraham Lincoln Association, the National Forensic League, | ||||||
18 | the Illinois High School Association, and the Illinois Speech | ||||||
19 | and Theater Association, as well as to all of the | ||||||
20 | constitutional officers of the State of Illinois, and the | ||||||
21 | Governor's Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
|