SR0250 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0250 LRB101 11672 MST 58351 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, In recent years the U.S. women's soccer team has outperformed the men's national team by consistently being ranked No. 1 worldwide and winning the Women's World Cup in 2015 and gold medals in the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Summer Olympics; and

WHEREAS, Once again the women's team enters this year's Women's World Cup as favorites with the nation behind them; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. women's national team has outpaced the men's national team in viewership, as its 2015 Women's World Cup championship game is the most watched soccer game in American history, for either gender; and

WHEREAS, Recently, 28 women's team players filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, alleging that the Federation had engaged in wage discrimination by paying the women far less than the men, despite the fact that these female and male players are called upon to perform the same job responsibilities on their teams and participate in international competitions for their single common employer, the United States Soccer Federation; and

WHEREAS, Despite greater success than the U.S. men's national team, the women's team has consistently been paid considerably less; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we support the U.S. Women's national soccer team members in their effort to achieve equal compensation.