SR0033 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0033 LRB103 26811 ECR 53175 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, For half a century, the Illinois Court Reporters Association (ILCRA) has been the preeminent association in Illinois to provide continual training to Certified Shorthand Reporters (CSRs), also known as court reporters, on professionalism, neutrality, confidentiality, and ethics for the benefit of all litigants, defendants, and the people of this State; and

WHEREAS, Illinois court reporters are licensed CSRs who diligently serve as Guardians of the Record, safeguarding litigants' personal, private, confidential, and proprietary information so that such information is not improperly released to the public; and

WHEREAS, Using advanced technology, court reporters write in shorthand, a simultaneous verbatim report of the spoken word, in pretrial depositions and hearings, trials, arbitrations, and sworn statements which are the critical foundation to the pursuit of justice in every legal proceeding; and

WHEREAS, Illinois shorthand reporters and real-time captioners provide Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) by captioning for attorneys, litigants, and jurors in legal proceedings, at business meetings, at educational classes and lectures, at sporting events, and at arts performances for many Illinoisans who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, have auditory processing disabilities, or for whom English is not their first language; and

WHEREAS, Court reporters and captioners preserve history for all Americans by translating spoken word into readable, searchable, storable, and usable text and electronic media; and

WHEREAS, Illinois CSRs are licensed by the State as the services provided by shorthand reporters and court reporters have long been declared to affect the public health, safety, and welfare of the people of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare February 4 through February 11, 2023 as Court Reporting and Captioning Week in the State of Illinois.