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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF ILLINOIS BECOMING THE FIRST STATE TO RATIFY THE 19TH AMENDMENT
WHEREAS, Illinois had long been at the forefront of the movement to provide women the right to vote; and
WHEREAS, in Illinois the first women's suffrage association was established in Earlville in LaSalle County in 1855, just seven years after the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York which called for suffrage for women; and
WHEREAS, the first statewide suffrage organization, the Illinois Woman Suffrage Association was established in 1869, becoming the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association in 1891; and
WHEREAS, also in 1891, Illinois enacted a law allowing women the right to vote for elective school offices; and
WHEREAS, in 1913 Illinois enacted the Presidential Suffrage Bill which gave Illinois women the right to vote in federal and municipal elections, not otherwise restricted to men under the Illinois Constitution; and
WHEREAS, with the enactment of that law, Illinois became the first state east of the Mississippi River to give women such right to vote for President of the United States, and is credited with being a major positive influence in advancing the women's suffrage movement in the United States; and
WHEREAS, on June 4, 1919, the proposed 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed by the United States Congress and sent to the States for ratification; and
WHEREAS, 100 years ago on June 10, 1919, Illinois became the first State to ratify the 19th Amendment (one hour prior to Wisconsin);
WHEREAS, Illinois led the way for the necessary three-fourths of the States to ratify the 19th Amendment, which became part of the Constitution on August 26, 1920; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the residents of Cook County, hereby declares June 10, 2019 to be a day to celebrate women's right to vote and the important role I...
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