Bill Text: IL HJR0036 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Designates Interstate 55 as it travels from the Tri-State Tollway to East St. Louis as the "Barack Obama Presidential Expressway".

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-07-04 - Adopted Both Houses [HJR0036 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HJR0036-Introduced.html

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HJ0036 LRB100 11570 MST 22399 r
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, President Barack H. Obama served as the 44th
President of the United States of America from January 20, 2009
to January 20, 2017; he was the first African American elected
to the American Presidency, and the first President born out of
the continental United States; and
WHEREAS, President Obama attended Occidental College in
Los Angeles, California and graduated from Columbia University
in New York in 1983; he attended Harvard Law School, where he
was the first African American editor of the Harvard Law
Review; he taught constitutional law at the University of
Chicago Law School for 12 years and served the City of Chicago
as a community organizer; and
WHEREAS, President Obama represented the 13th Senate
District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004; and
WHEREAS, President Obama was elected to represent Illinois
in the United States Senate in 2004 with over 70% of the vote;
and
WHEREAS, President Obama was elected President in 2008 with
just under 53% of the popular vote; he was re-elected in 2012;
and

HJ0036 - 2 - LRB100 11570 MST 22399 r
WHEREAS, As President, President Obama signed into law the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which saved the nation
from the worst of effects of the Great Recession; he also
signed into law the Dodd-Frank financial institution
regulations to help the nation avoid another economic
catastrophe; and
WHEREAS, President Obama has been a progressive leader on
numerous issues including, domestic policy, LGBTQ rights,
women's rights, healthcare, economic policy, environmental
policy, energy, gun control, internet policy, and foreign
policy; and
WHEREAS, President Obama reduced the number of U.S. troops
committed internationally; he signed the Paris Agreement and
negotiated a successful nuclear deal with Iran; he oversaw the
opening of relations between the U.S. and Cuba; and
WHEREAS, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act,
providing healthcare to millions and protecting millions more
from being denied for pre-existing conditions; and
WHEREAS, President Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace
Prize for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen
international diplomacy and cooperation between people; and

HJ0036 - 3 - LRB100 11570 MST 22399 r
WHEREAS, The Barack Obama Presidential Center will be
hosted by the University of Chicago and will be located in
Jackson Park on the South Side of Chicago; once completed it
will become the 14th site in the National Archives and Records
Administration presidential library system; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE
CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate Interstate 55 as it
travels from the Tri-State Tollway to East St. Louis as the
"Barack Obama Presidential Expressway"; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation
is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with
State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs
giving notice of the name "Barack Obama Presidential
Expressway"; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
presented to President Obama and the Secretary of the
Department of Transportation.