Bill Text: IL SR0278 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares May of 2023 as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in honor of the contributions made by Asian American and Pacific Island residents and communities across Illinois.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2023-05-31 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Laura M. Murphy [SR0278 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-SR0278-Introduced.html
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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The month of May first commemorated Asian | ||||||
| 3 | American and Pacific Islander heritage in 1979 and has been | ||||||
| 4 | celebrated as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month since | ||||||
| 5 | 1990; this commemoration uplifts the stories of more than 50 | ||||||
| 6 | distinct ethnic groups and more than 100 languages that | ||||||
| 7 | comprise Asian American and Pacific Islander communities; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, The month of May was chosen to commemorate Asian | ||||||
| 9 | American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month to mark the first | ||||||
| 10 | arrival of Japanese immigrants on May 7, 1843 and the | ||||||
| 11 | completion of the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869 | ||||||
| 12 | through the incredible effort of mostly Chinese immigrant | ||||||
| 13 | workers; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Illinois is home to more than 870,000 Asian | ||||||
| 15 | Americans and Pacific Islanders, according to the most recent | ||||||
| 16 | American Community Survey data available from the U.S. Census | ||||||
| 17 | Bureau; the five largest communities represented are Indian | ||||||
| 18 | Americans, Filipino Americans, Chinese Americans, Korean | ||||||
| 19 | Americans, and Pakistani Americans; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Through immigration and refugee resettlement and | ||||||
| 21 | as multi-generational families, Asian Americans and Pacific | ||||||
| 22 | Islanders have taken many pathways to call Illinois home; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders comprise | ||||||
| 2 | the fastest growing racial or ethnic group in the country, and | ||||||
| 3 | Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are vital | ||||||
| 4 | parts of communities across Illinois in cities, suburbs, and | ||||||
| 5 | rural areas of the state; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, The history of Asian Americans and Pacific | ||||||
| 7 | Islanders is deeply intertwined in the history of the United | ||||||
| 8 | States and is often fraught with discrimination, exclusion, | ||||||
| 9 | and violence; despite these and other challenges, Asian | ||||||
| 10 | American and Pacific Islander communities continue to arise; | ||||||
| 11 | they have been a vital part of the development of Illinois and | ||||||
| 12 | of the United States in every facet of public life and in the | ||||||
| 13 | advancement of civil rights; therefore, be it
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| 14 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | ||||||
| 15 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare May of 2023 | ||||||
| 16 | as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in honor | ||||||
| 17 | of the contributions made by the Asian American and Pacific | ||||||
| 18 | Island residents and communities across Illinois.
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