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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE VICTIMS OF CHARLOTTESVILLE AND CONDEMNING AND DISAVOWING WHITE SUPREMACY AND ALL FORMS OF RACISM
WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence establishes one of the underlying principles of our democracy with the following words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”; and
WHEREAS, one of the foundational principles of America and the strengths of our great democracy is our diversity of thought, ideas and people; and
WHEREAS, we are a country where men and women of different races, faiths, sexual orientations and political beliefs are united under the banner of the greatest country in the world, the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, the members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and the people of Cook County mourn the victims of the tragic events in Charlottesville, Virginia and stand unified in our condemnation of the hatred and intolerance espoused by the hundreds of white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia; and
WHEREAS, the response to these heinous acts of racism needs to come not just from the Federal government, or the State of Virginia, or the City of Charlottesville, but it needs to come from communities all across this country; and
WHEREAS, we find the two days that it took the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to fully condemn this unabashed display of raw hatred, racism and xenophobia to be incomprehensible, irresponsible and immoral; and
WHEREAS, the act of vehicular violence that took place on Saturday, August 28th was most assuredly an act of domestic terrorism; and
WHEREAS, we mourn the death of Helen Heyer and wish a rapid recovery to the dozens of people who were injured by an individual who sought to silence diverse voices, that chose to stand up to proclaim and show that hate will never win over love and the true American spirit; and
WHEREAS, we also mourn the deaths of the two Virginia State Police Officers: Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Trooper Berke M.M. Bates, who lost their lives in the line of duty defending the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and Cook County Board of Commissioners repudiates and condemns white supremacists, neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and any other group espousing hate and seeking to undermine the very ideals of who we are as Americans; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President and Cook County Board of Commissioners celebrates the diversity of our county and nation and condemns those who seek to spread hate and division while attacking the foundational values of our county, state and nation.
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