100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB5142

 

Introduced , by Rep. Theresa Mah

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 490/69 new

    Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Provides that January 30 of each year is designated as Fred T. Korematsu Day, to be observed throughout the State as a day in honor of the man and his courageous fight and efforts for civil liberties, and to encourage schools and institutes of higher learning in this State to incorporate the story of Fred Korematsu and his valiant stand for American values of justice into their curricula. Provides a preamble. Effective immediately.


LRB100 18152 RJF 33347 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5142LRB100 18152 RJF 33347 b

1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    WHEREAS, An assault on civil liberties was launched on
3February 19, 1942 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed
4Executive Order No. 9066, authorizing the internment of all
5people of Japanese descent in the United States; under the
6order, those of Japanese ancestry, many American citizens, were
7subject to a curfew and ordered to submit to imprisonment and
8placed in American internment camps without trial, access to
9legal counsel, or notice of any criminal charges; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Fred T. Korematsu of Oakland, California,
11valiantly refused to comply with these directives in an
12admirable display of civil disobedience and continued to
13proudly live his life as a free American citizen; Fred
14Korematsu was subsequently arrested and tried for refusing to
15comply with Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34, which was
16authorized by Executive Order No. 9066, and sent to Topaz
17internment camp in Utah; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu, in a selfless act of sacrifices,
19agreed to be the representative for those wrongfully
20imprisoned, and appealed his case with the help of Earnest
21Besig of the American Civil Liberties Union; the case was heard
22by the United States Supreme Court; and
 
23    WHEREAS, The Supreme Court upheld the decision to imprison

 

 

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1Fred Korematsu in a 6-3 ruling, as well as the
2constitutionality of discrimination against a racial group as
3justified under conditions of war; that decision remains a
4scourge upon civil liberties and American values of equal
5protection; the conviction of Fred Korematsu was overturned via
6a writ of error corum nobis on November 10, 1983 by the United
7States District Court of Northern California; the Supreme Court
8decision has yet to be challenged; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu and his legal team appealed to
10overturn his conviction, inspiring the Civil Liberties Act of
111988, which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan,
12which formally apologized to those wrongfully incarcerated
13under Executive Order No. 9066, and acknowledged the order was
14issued because of "racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a
15failure of political leadership"; Fred Korematsu was later
16awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill
17Clinton, the highest honor awarded to a civilian who has
18admirably served the interests of the Nation; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu continued throughout his life to
20raise his voice for the voiceless and defend the defenseless in
21solidarity with those denied civil liberties, including
22speaking out against the solitary confinement of an American
23Muslim man in a United States military prison without trial;
24and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu passed away on March 30, 2005;
2today, the Fred Korematsu Institute works to educate people
3about his life story and the importance of civil liberties; the
4institute also aims to promote awareness by schools, the
5general public, and state and federal legislators of Fred
6Korematsu by observing his birthdate, January 30, as Fred T.
7Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution;
8therefore
 
9    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
10represented in the General Assembly:
 
11    Section 5. The State Commemorative Dates Act is amended by
12adding Section 69 as follows:
 
13    (5 ILCS 490/69 new)
14    Sec. 69. Fred T. Korematsu Day. January 30 of each year is
15designated as Fred T. Korematsu Day, to be observed throughout
16the State as a day in honor of the man and his courageous fight
17and efforts for civil liberties, and to encourage schools and
18institutes of higher learning in this State to incorporate the
19story of Fred Korematsu and his valiant stand for American
20values of justice into their curricula.
 
21    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1becoming law.