Full Text of SR0165 102nd General Assembly
SR0165 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Chicago is home to over 150,000 Puerto Rican | 3 | | residents who are deeply concerned with and connected to | 4 | | Puerto Rico, as demonstrated by the fact that Chicago's Puerto | 5 | | Rican community was the first to send nongovernmental aid to | 6 | | the island after Hurricane Maria in 2017; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, This diasporic community has long voiced support | 8 | | for Puerto Rico; today, it once again reaffirms this support, | 9 | | in recognition of international law and human rights; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Puerto Rico enters the 123rd year of U.S. | 11 | | colonization, which began with the U.S. invasion in 1898 and | 12 | | the subsequent annexation of Puerto Rico through The Treaty of | 13 | | Paris between the U.S. and Spain that year; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, The U.S. Supreme Court declared, in the wake of | 15 | | the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision, that Puerto Rico belongs to | 16 | | but is not part of the United States, citing Puerto Ricans | 17 | | supposed racial inferiority and unfitness for self-rule, which | 18 | | would subsequently govern Puerto Rico through a doctrine of | 19 | | separate and unequal; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, The U.S. government and corporations have | 21 | | benefited immensely from Puerto Rico's resources, labor, and |
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| 1 | | environment at the cost of Puerto Rican well-being and freedom | 2 | | and, as a result, fueled mass migration from the island, to | 3 | | such an extent that today the majority of Puerto Ricans live | 4 | | outside of Puerto Rico; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, While Puerto Rico was granted local autonomy | 6 | | through the establishment of the Commonwealth constitution in | 7 | | 1952, this did not alter the colonial relationship between the | 8 | | U.S. and Puerto Rico, as the U.S. Congress retained plenary | 9 | | power over Puerto Rico; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, U.S. authorities have long repressed movements | 11 | | and efforts to self-determination and have allowed non-binding | 12 | | plebiscites and referendums that have unresolved the status | 13 | | issue; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, The Puerto Rican New Progressive Party, which | 15 | | advocates for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state of the | 16 | | union, has imposed the two most recent referenda in 2017 and | 17 | | 2020; these have been marred by partisan control, voting | 18 | | irregularities, and confusing ballot language; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Statehood proponents, such as the current | 20 | | governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, who did not win a | 21 | | majority of the vote, argue that the November 3, 2020 | 22 | | referendum produced a mandate for statehood; there are |
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| 1 | | significant reasons to question this conclusion, including the | 2 | | fact that the referendum suffered from historic lows in | 3 | | participation, excluded non-statehood options, offered voters | 4 | | no transition plan on the consequences of the vote, and was | 5 | | widely opposed by much of Puerto Rico's civil society; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, There is no mandate for statehood; there is | 7 | | consensus in Puerto Rico and throughout its diaspora that | 8 | | resolving Puerto Rico's colonial status requires a fair, | 9 | | inclusive, transparent, democratic, and binding | 10 | | self-determination process; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, This type of process is outlined in the Puerto | 12 | | Rico Self-Determination Act, soon to be reintroduced by Puerto | 13 | | Rican Congresswomen Nydia Velazquez and Alexandria | 14 | | Ocasio-Cortez; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, The Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act affirms | 16 | | that Puerto Ricans have the final determination on the destiny | 17 | | of Puerto Rico and proposes the formation of a constitutional | 18 | | convention of elected delegates that represent all of the | 19 | | major political status positions, including statehood, free | 20 | | association, and independence; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, The Act further recommends that the Puerto Rican | 22 | | people must be provided with extensive information and |
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| 1 | | engagement on all non-territorial options available and what | 2 | | the real implications of those options would be, and that the | 3 | | process be led and decided by the people who are impacted, not | 4 | | by political parties or under the pressures of political | 5 | | agendas; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The act most closely corresponds with President | 7 | | Biden's pledge to "engage Puerto Ricans — including | 8 | | representatives of every status option — in a process of | 9 | | self-determination, listening and developing federal | 10 | | legislation that outlines a fair path forward"; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Today, the Puerto Rican community in Chicago | 12 | | joins with Puerto Ricans across the diaspora and in Puerto | 13 | | Rico to support Congresswomen Nydia Velazquez and Alexandria | 14 | | Ocasio-Cortez's Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act and calls | 15 | | for an end to the shameful colonization of Puerto Rico; | 16 | | therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 18 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge all Illinois | 19 | | legislators at all levels of government to endorse the Puerto | 20 | | Rico Self-Determination Act; and be it further
| 21 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the U.S. Congress to respond to | 22 | | will of Puerto Rico and to usher in a new relationship between |
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| 1 | | the United States and the people of Puerto Rico; and be it | 2 | | further | 3 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 4 | | delivered to the President of the United States, the U.S. | 5 | | Senate Majority Leader, the U.S. Senate Minority Leader, the | 6 | | U.S. Speaker of the House, the U.S. House of Representatives | 7 | | Minority Leader, and all members of the Illinois Congressional | 8 | | Delegation.
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