Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HJR0068
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Full Text of HJR0068  100th General Assembly

HJ0068 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY


  

 


 
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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Illinois has debated and adopted four state
3constitutions since its founding, the original 1818 document,
4one in 1848, one in 1870, and one in 1970; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Illinois citizens and elected officials have come
6together to discuss the future of the Land of Lincoln in six
7constitutional conventions in 1818, 1846, 1860, 1868, 1918, and
81968; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Forty-nine years have passed since the last
10constitutional convention was called, resulting in the
11current, 1970 Illinois Constitution; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Subsection (b) of Section 1 of Article XIV of the
13Illinois Constitution provides that if the question of whether
14a State Constitutional Convention should be called is not
15submitted ruing any 20-year period, the Secretary of State
16shall submit that question at the general election in the 20th
17year following the last submission; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The question of whether a State Constitutional
19Convention should be called was placed before the voters on the
20general election ballot on November 4, 2008; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Since November 4, 2008, more than 400 resolutions
2have been submitted by Illinois legislators to amend the
3Illinois Constitution; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Members of the General Assembly who represent a
5cross section of Illinois geography and Illinois politics have
6sought to amend the Illinois Constitution to address challenges
7including taxes and revenue; term limits and recall of elected
8officials; voting and elections; home rule governance and
9unfunded mandates; education funding and public pension
10reform; and, consolidation of constitutional officers and
11legislative redistricting; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The upcoming Illinois Bicentennial year of 2018
13provides the appropriate opportunity for Illinois citizens and
14elected officials to reflect upon the condition and contemplate
15the future of our Great State; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Ten years will have passed since Illinois voters
17have been asked to approve a State Constitutional Convention;
18and
 
19    WHEREAS, Subsection (a) of Section 1 of Article XIV of the
20Illinois Constitution states: "Whenever three-fifths of the
21members elected to each house of the General Assembly so
22direct, the question of whether a Constitutional Convention

 

 

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1should be called shall be submitted to the electors at the
2general election next occurring at least six months after such
3legislative direction"; therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
5HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE
6CONCURRING HEREIN, that the proposition on whether a State
7Constitutional Convention should be called be submitted to the
8electors of this State at the general election next occurring
9at least six months after the adoption of this resolution, as
10provided in Article XIV, Section 1, of the Illinois
11Constitution; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
13presented to the Secretary of State and the State Board of
14Elections.