SR0723 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0723 LRB095 21446 KXB 51001 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias is the current President of Venezuela; and

WHEREAS, In 2002, President Chavez tried to take over the Caracas city police force, which reports to an opposition mayor; the Venezuelan Supreme Court ordered Chavez to restore the force's autonomy; an opposition strike occurred in January of 2003 and violence ensued, resulting in two deaths; and

WHEREAS, In October of 2005, President Chavez accused what he called the "North American empire" of threatening "all life on the planet"; and

WHEREAS, In August of 2006, President Chavez made statements comparing Israel to Hitler; and

WHEREAS, In September of 2006, President Chavez delivered a speech to the United Nations General Assembly condemning U.S. President George Bush; in the speech, Chavez referred to President Bush as "the devil", adding that Bush had come to the United Nations General Assembly to "share his nostrums to try to preserve the current pattern of domination, exploitation and pillage of the peoples of the world"; in response, U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) stated "He is an everyday thug"; and

WHEREAS, President Chavez has undergone criticism from the global community for what is considered to be an excess usage of police action; and

WHEREAS, In May of 2007, President Chavez silenced the popular Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) and replaced it with a state-run broadcast station; the station had been on the air for 53 years and aired news broadcasts with a decidedly anti-governmental perspective; it was one of only a handful of private broadcast stations that openly criticized the government; and

WHEREAS, Media outlets have accused the Chavez administration of intimidating their journalists using specially-dispatched gangs; and

WHEREAS, In November of 2007 and in February of 2008, President Chavez threatened to cut off oil shipments to the United States; and

WHEREAS, President Chavez's warm and public friendship with Cuban President Fidel Castro has compromised the U.S. policy of isolating Cuba diplomatically and economically; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. State Department released a report in April of 2008 which states that President Chavez is not cooperating with U.S. anti-terror efforts and has "deepened Venezuelan relationships with state sponsors of terrorism Iran and Cuba"; it further notes that Venezuelan weapons stocks have turned up in the hands of Colombian terrorist organizations; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage the State of Illinois and its citizens to not conduct business with President Hugo Chavez or any companies associated with President Hugo Chavez; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Governor.