HB5142 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB100 18152 RJF 33347 b

100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB5142

Introduced , by Rep. Theresa Mah

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

5 ILCS 490/69 new

Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Provides that January 30 of each year is designated as Fred T. Korematsu Day, to be observed throughout the State as a day in honor of the man and his courageous fight and efforts for civil liberties, and to encourage schools and institutes of higher learning in this State to incorporate the story of Fred Korematsu and his valiant stand for American values of justice into their curricula. Provides a preamble. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning government.

WHEREAS, An assault on civil liberties was launched on February 19, 1942 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed 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 and 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; Fred Korematsu was subsequently arrested and tried for refusing to comply with Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34, which was authorized by Executive Order No. 9066, and sent to Topaz internment camp in Utah; and

WHEREAS, Fred Korematsu, in a selfless act of sacrifices, 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 scourge upon civil liberties and American values of equal protection; the conviction of Fred Korematsu was overturned via a writ of error corum 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, 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"; Fred Korematsu 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 about his life story and the importance of civil liberties; the institute also aims to promote awareness by schools, the general public, and state and federal legislators of Fred Korematsu by observing his birthdate, January 30, as Fred T. Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution; therefore

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The State Commemorative Dates Act is amended by adding Section 69 as follows:

(5 ILCS 490/69 new)

Sec. 69. Fred T. Korematsu Day. January 30 of each year is designated as Fred T. Korematsu Day, to be observed throughout the State as a day in honor of the man and his courageous fight and efforts for civil liberties, and to encourage schools and institutes of higher learning in this State to incorporate the story of Fred Korematsu and his valiant stand for American values of justice into their curricula.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.