HR0198 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0198 LRB100 11777 MST 23146 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The United States of America is the greatest country in the world; and

WHEREAS, The President of the United States holds the most powerful office in the world; he or she represents our nation and should be an example of the best qualities that America has to offer; he or she should always be a champion of American values such as democracy, freedom of the press, and truth regardless of political party; he or she should be held to the highest of professional and personal standards; and

WHEREAS, The freedom of an independent press is vital to a successful democracy; the president should not refer to the media as the enemy of the American people and to critical media outlets or stories as fake news; he or she should not bar media outlets from press briefings based on their coverage and should not accuse the media of inventing sources for published stories without any evidence; and

WHEREAS, Free and fair elections are the foundation of our great democracy; the president should pledge to accept the outcome of all elections, not just if he or she wins; he or she should not claim that free and fair elections are rigged; he or she should not delegitimize democracy by claiming three to five million people voted illegally in a presidential election without any supporting evidence, and he or she should not repeatedly misrepresent the Electoral College results; and

WHEREAS, The United States Constitution enshrines an impartial judiciary as a critical check on the power of the legislative and executive branches; the president should not refer to federal judges as "so-called judges" because they disagree with the legality or constitutionality of his or her proposals; he or she should not suggest that judges and the court system would be responsible for a possible terrorist attack because of disagreement over a court ruling; he or she should not suggest a judge cannot be impartial due to that judges's heritage; and

WHEREAS, The president should not lie to or mislead the American people; the term "alternative facts" should not be repeatedly used by senior staff to the president because alternative facts are nothing more than lies; and

WHEREAS, The president should not actively push conspiracy theories, such as claiming a former president wiretapped him or her without evidence, denying that current or former presidents are American citizens, falsely claiming that thousands of American citizens of a particular religion cheered the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, or denying the reality of climate change by claiming it is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese as these theories are beneath the office which he or she holds; he or she should not repeatedly lie about the size of his or her inauguration crowd, despite evidence to the contrary; and

WHEREAS, Members of the United States Military put their lives on the line every single day to keep us safe and deserve nothing but the utmost gratitude for their service; the president should not insult former prisoners of war for being captured; he or she should not advocate for the use of torture or for violations of the Geneva Convention; and

WHEREAS, The president should clearly represent the people and not have business interests which conflict with his or her decisions as president; senior staff to the president should not advocate for the purchasing of particular commercial products; and

WHEREAS, The president should represent all Americans; he or she should not mock individuals with disabilities; he or she should not brag about grabbing another human being by the genitals; he or she should not infer that the majority of immigrants are criminals and rapists; he or she should not threaten to cut federal funding to a university because of protests; he or she should not offer to pay the legal bills of those who assault his or her opponents; he or she should not advocate for banning people from the land of the free based on their religious beliefs; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we believe in the highest of standards for the President of the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we will not impede the freedom of religion, the freedom of the press, the judiciary, elections, or the rights of all Americans; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we will put our county over political affiliations and we will hold current and future presidents, to the best of our abilities, accountable when they misrepresent their office.