Full Text of HJR0069 102nd General Assembly
HJ0069 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Heirs' property is defined by the United States | 3 | | Department of Agriculture as land that has been passed down | 4 | | informally from generation to generation without clear title | 5 | | or documented legal ownership; every heir has rights to the | 6 | | property, but the lack of a clear title creates confusion | 7 | | regarding taxes, the use of the land, and the ability to sell | 8 | | the land; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Without much trust in the legal system, many of | 10 | | the African American farmers who purchased or were deeded land | 11 | | after the Civil War died without a will, and the property was | 12 | | passed down informally; each successive generation of heirs | 13 | | further divided the title to the property and complicated the | 14 | | heirs' ability to determine the legal owners of the property; | 15 | | and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Some of the consequences that the heirs' property | 17 | | owners face are disagreements over which heirs have the right | 18 | | to occupy the land and how the land may be used, difficulty | 19 | | selling the property due to a lack of a clear title, the | 20 | | exclusion from some governmental support programs, including | 21 | | disaster relief funds, the inability to claim the land as an | 22 | | asset to obtain a mortgage or other loan, and the loss of land | 23 | | due to disagreements over responsibility for the payment of |
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| 1 | | taxes; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Heirs' property is the leading cause of | 3 | | involuntary land loss among African Americans, and the United | 4 | | States Department of Agriculture reported the loss of 80 | 5 | | percent of the land owned by African American farm owners | 6 | | since 1910; the rate of African American land loss has been far | 7 | | greater than for other racial and ethnic groups in the same | 8 | | time period; it remains a continuing and systemic problem, as | 9 | | it is a significant factor in the wealth gap between white and | 10 | | African American populations, with African Americans having | 11 | | ten percent of the wealth of white Americans; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, There is no national data regarding the amount of | 13 | | land held as heirs' property; some organizations have | 14 | | attempted to develop models to estimate the information; it is | 15 | | challenging to obtain specific data because every state and | 16 | | each county within each state compiles real estate ownership | 17 | | data differently; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Owning land is significant, especially for | 19 | | African Americans; it allows for increased personal and | 20 | | economic freedom; many Americans, including African Americans, | 21 | | believed that real economic and political independence could | 22 | | only be achieved by owning land; landowners provide economic | 23 | | stability within their communities through payment of property |
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| 1 | | taxes and support for local business; in addition, they are | 2 | | more likely to be civically engaged, having greater political | 3 | | influence; therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 5 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 6 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Heirs' | 7 | | Property Study Task Force to examine current and prospective | 8 | | methods to address heirs' property issues in Illinois; and be | 9 | | it further | 10 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall: | 11 | | (1) determine the amount of land in Illinois that is | 12 | | subject to the heirs' property system; | 13 | | (2) study the impacts of federal and State legislation | 14 | | on the partition of the land subject to heirs' property; | 15 | | (3) analyze approaches and methods undertaken by other | 16 | | states to address heirs' property and study if those | 17 | | methods could be applied to Illinois; and | 18 | | (4) determine the costs heirs' property presents to | 19 | | the economic well-being of Illinois and estimate the | 20 | | benefits of proactive measures taken to address heirs' | 21 | | property; and be it further | 22 | | RESOLVED, That Task Force shall be comprised of the | 23 | | following members, who shall serve without compensation: |
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| 1 | | (1) 3 members of the House of Representatives | 2 | | appointed by the Speaker of the House, one who shall serve | 3 | | as co-chair; | 4 | | (2) 3 members of the Senate appointed by the Senate | 5 | | President, one who shall serve as co-chair; | 6 | | (3) The Director of the Department of Agriculture or | 7 | | his or her designee; | 8 | | (4) The Director of the Housing Development Authority | 9 | | or his or her designee; | 10 | | (5) The Director of the Department of Natural | 11 | | Resources or his or her designee; and | 12 | | (6) The Director of the Illinois Municipal League or | 13 | | his or her designee appointed by the Governor; and be it | 14 | | further | 15 | | RESOLVED, The Department of Agriculture shall provide | 16 | | administrative support for the Task Force; and be it further | 17 | | RESOLVED, That Task Force shall submit its final report to | 18 | | the General Assembly no later than December 31, 2022, and upon | 19 | | the filing of its final report, is dissolved.
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