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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The National Association of the Deaf recognizes | ||||||
| 3 | April as Deaf History Month to increase awareness of and | ||||||
| 4 | express appreciation for the many contributions that deaf and | ||||||
| 5 | hard-of-hearing individuals have made to our society; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, over | ||||||
| 7 | 400,000 individuals in Illinois are deaf or hard of hearing; | ||||||
| 8 | and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Deaf culture is an important part of the fabric | ||||||
| 10 | of our society; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals have made | ||||||
| 12 | and continue to make numerous contributions to their local | ||||||
| 13 | communities, the state, and the United States; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, The American School for the Deaf opened in | ||||||
| 15 | Hartford, Connecticut on April 15, 1817 as the first public | ||||||
| 16 | school for the deaf in the United States; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Inspired by meeting an educated deaf man, State | ||||||
| 18 | Senator Orville H. Browning introduced and championed the | ||||||
| 19 | passage of a bill in 1839 to create what would become the | ||||||
| 20 | Illinois School for the Deaf, which opened its doors to | ||||||
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| 1 | students in January of 1846 in Jacksonville, where it proudly | ||||||
| 2 | remains located to this day; and | ||||||
| 3 | WHEREAS, In April of 1864, President Abraham Lincoln, who | ||||||
| 4 | as a state legislator in Illinois supported the creation of | ||||||
| 5 | the Illinois School for the Deaf, signed a charter | ||||||
| 6 | establishing Gallaudet University, the first college in the | ||||||
| 7 | world for deaf students, named in honor of Thomas Hopkins | ||||||
| 8 | Gallaudet, who acted as an informal advisor to the first board | ||||||
| 9 | members of the Illinois School for the Deaf; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 10 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 11 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare April 2025 | ||||||
| 12 | and April 2026 as Deaf History Month in the State of Illinois | ||||||
| 13 | and encourage Illinoisans to become familiar with and | ||||||
| 14 | celebrate the contributions of deaf Illinoisans to our state | ||||||
| 15 | and nation; and be it further | ||||||
| 16 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 17 | provided to the Illinois Association of the Deaf, the Illinois | ||||||
| 18 | Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission, and the Illinois School | ||||||
| 19 | for the Deaf as a symbol of our respect and esteem. | ||||||