Full Text of HR1054 100th General Assembly
HR1054 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Douglas Park is a 218-acre park on the West Side | 3 | | of Chicago and is named after U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas | 4 | | (1813-1861), a pro-slavery politician from Illinois; he was a | 5 | | proponent of the concept of "popular sovereignty", the idea | 6 | | that those areas of the country where a majority wished to have | 7 | | slavery should be allowed to do so; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Douglas Park borders a neighborhood of African | 9 | | American and Latino residents; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Recently, fifth grade students at the Village | 11 | | Leadership Academy were assigned to persuade commuters to sign | 12 | | a petition to add an "S" to the park's current name, thus | 13 | | renaming it for Frederick Douglass, a former slave and social | 14 | | reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, To gain public support for the name change, sixth | 16 | | graders from the Village Leadership Academy are meeting with | 17 | | West Side community groups, visiting the North Lawndale | 18 | | neighborhood near the park to gather signatures from area | 19 | | residents, and campaigning on subway platforms and aboard | 20 | | trains; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, This assignment encourages students to learn |
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| 1 | | about politics, current events, and how to make positive | 2 | | changes in their communities; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, The next phase of the assignment will be for the | 4 | | students to make a formal presentation to the Chicago Park | 5 | | District, which has the final say on the names of parks; | 6 | | therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 8 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 9 | | commend the students of the Village Leadership Academy for | 10 | | their efforts to make positive changes within their community; | 11 | | and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Chicago Park District to approve | 13 | | changing the name of Douglas Park to Douglass Park in honor of | 14 | | Frederick Douglass; and be it further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 16 | | presented to the students at the Village Leadership Academy and | 17 | | Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners President Jesse H. | 18 | | Ruiz.
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