Bill Text: IL HJR0005 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Commends Fred T. Korematsu for his courageous efforts for civil liberties. Honors the legacy of Fred Korematsu, his institute, and his children who work so diligently to educate the public by encouraging schools and institutes of higher learning throughout the State of Illinois to incorporate his story and valiant stand for American values of justice into their curriculum.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-28 - Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Kam Buckner [HJR0005 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HJR0005-Introduced.html

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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The people of Illinois seek to uphold the values
that make the United States and the State of Illinois great,
those of freedom, opportunity, equal justice under law for
all, and all civil liberties enshrined in the United States
and Illinois Constitutions; and
WHEREAS, Anti-immigrant sentiment and anti-immigrant
extremism have factored into discrimination against Asian
Americans and other marginalized people throughout our history
and caused real harm to individuals and communities; and
WHEREAS, The people and the State of Illinois have a duty
to uphold our founding values and actively work to learn from
our history and prevent the mistakes and tragedies of our
past, including the unconstitutional use of executive orders
to deny the guaranteed rights of citizenship; and
WHEREAS, It is most appropriate and necessary to
commemorate those incredible individuals who have defended
civil liberties and resisted oppression within our great
nation; and
WHEREAS, An assault on civil liberties was launched on
February 19, 1942 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed

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Executive Order No. 9066, authorizing the internment of all
people of Japanese descent in the United States; under the
order, those of Japanese ancestry, many American citizens,
were subject to a curfew, ordered to submit to imprisonment,
and placed in American internment camps without trial, access
to legal counsel, or notice of any criminal charges; and
WHEREAS, Fred T. Korematsu of Oakland, California
valiantly refused to comply with these directives in an
admirable display of civil disobedience and continued to
proudly live his life as a free American citizen; he was
subsequently arrested and tried for refusing to comply with
Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34, which was authorized by
Executive Order No. 9066, and he was sent to Topaz internment
camp in Utah; and
WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu, in a selfless act of sacrifice,
agreed to be the representative for those wrongfully
imprisoned and appealed his case with the help of Earnest
Besig of the American Civil Liberties Union; the case was
heard by the United States Supreme Court; and
WHEREAS, The Supreme Court upheld the decision to imprison
Fred Korematsu in a 6-3 ruling, as well as the
constitutionality of discrimination against a racial group as
justified under conditions of war; that decision remains a

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stain upon civil liberties and American values of equal
protection under law; his conviction was overturned via a writ
of error coram nobis on November 10, 1983 by the United States
District Court of Northern California; the Supreme Court
decision has yet to be challenged; and
WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu and his legal team appealed to
overturn his conviction, inspiring the Civil Liberties Act of
1988, which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan and
which formally apologized to those wrongfully incarcerated
under Executive Order No. 9066 and acknowledged the order was
issued because of "racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a
failure of political leadership"; he was later awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton, the
highest honor awarded to a civilian who has admirably served
the interests of the nation; and
WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu continued throughout his life to
raise his voice for the voiceless and defend the defenseless
in solidarity with those denied civil liberties, including
speaking out against the solitary confinement of an American
Muslim man in a United States military prison without trial;
and
WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu passed away on March 30, 2005;
today, the Fred Korematsu Institute works to educate people

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about his life story and the importance of civil liberties;
the institute also aims to promote awareness of his life and
work by schools, the general public, and state and federal
legislators of his life with the observation of his birthdate,
January 30, as Fred T. Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the
Constitution; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we commend Fred T. Korematsu
for his courageous efforts for civil liberties; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That we honor the legacy of Fred Korematsu, his
institute, and his children who work so diligently to educate
the public by encouraging schools and institutes of higher
learning throughout the State of Illinois to incorporate his
story and valiant stand for American values of justice into
their curriculum; and be it further