SR0085 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0085 LRB098 10310 GRL 40495 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The freedom of speech and other rights set forth in the United States Constitution are fundamental to our democracy; and

WHEREAS, Fair and free elections are essential to democracy and effective self-government; and

WHEREAS, The United States Constitution, as well as the Bill of Rights and further amendments, are intended to protect the rights of individual human beings ("natural persons"); corporations and other artificial entities are not mentioned in the Constitution and the citizens of this nation have never granted constitutional rights to corporations and other artificial entities; and

WHEREAS, In the words of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, native son of the great State of Illinois, "Money is property; it is not speech" protected by the First Amendment, as stated in Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Gov't PAC, 528 U.S. 377, 398 (2000) (Stevens, J., concurring); and

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate find a compelling interest in creating a level playing field and ensuring that all citizens, regardless of wealth, have an opportunity to have their political views heard; and

WHEREAS, Campaign finance laws, including limits on campaign expenditures and contributions from any source, are key tools to combating political corruption; and

WHEREAS, The Supreme Court, in Buckley v. Valeo, held that the use of money to influence elections is the equivalent of speech and that government cannot constitutionally limit the amount of money that individuals can spend to influence the electoral process; these deeply and dangerously undemocratic precedents were expanded upon in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) and SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission (2010 U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit), unleashing a torrent of corporate and private money into our political process that has been unmatched by any campaign expenditures in United States history and drowning out the voices of the ordinary citizens we represent; and

WHEREAS, In recent decades, a divided United States Supreme Court has transformed the First Amendment into a powerful tool for corporations and other artificial entities to evade and invalidate democratically-enacted reforms; and

WHEREAS, In 2012, 73% of Illinois residents, voting on ballot questions similar to the PRAIRIE Resolution, called for a constitutional amendment, transcending party lines and geographic location; and

WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution empowers the people and states of the United States of America to use the constitutional amendment process to correct those egregiously wrong decisions of the United States Supreme Court that go to the heart of our democracy and republican form of government; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, as elected representatives of the people, respectfully but emphatically disagree with the aforementioned decisions of the United States Supreme Court and call upon the United States Congress to propose and send to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United v. FEC, Speech Now.org v. FEC, Buckley v. Valeo, and other related cases that allow for unlimited election spending; and be it further

RESOLVED, That such an amendment should make clear that the rights of persons protected by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons and not those of corporations or other artificial entities; and be it further

RESOLVED, That such an amendment should make clear that money can facilitate speech but its use is not, in and of itself, speech within the meaning of the First Amendment, and can be regulated; and be it further

RESOLVED, That such an amendment should make clear that corporations and other artificial entities are subject to regulation by the people through the legislative process, so long as the regulations are consistent with the powers of Congress and the states and do not limit freedom of the press; and be it further

RESOLVED, That such an amendment should make clear that federal, state, and local governments shall have the power to require disclosure of, limit, and regulate all election contributions and expenditures, whether to candidates or ballot measures, including political contributions and expenditures from individuals, corporations, unions, political committees, other artificial entities, and candidates; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we state our belief that such a constitutional amendment supports the goals of the people of Illinois in achieving a level playing field in election expenditures, regardless of their source; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Illinois congressional delegation is urged to propose a joint resolution offering such an amendment to the United States Constitution and to work diligently to bring such a joint resolution to a vote and passage, including use of discharge petitions, cloture, and every other procedural method to secure a vote and passage; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the individual members of the Illinois General Assembly are encouraged to ratify such an amendment to the United States Constitution that is consistent with the policy of the State of Illinois as herein declared; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call upon other states and jurisdictions to join with us in this action by enacting similar resolutions to secure the restoration of constitutional rights and fair elections to the people of Illinois and all citizens of the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to each member of the Illinois congressional delegation, the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the United States Senate.