Illinois House votes to endorse ‘abolition amendment,’ D.C. statehood
By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House voted Wednesday to endorse a proposed U.S. constitutional amendment that would finally eliminate what some see as the last vestige of slavery in the United States – forced labor by people convicted of crimes and sentenced to prison.
House Joint Resolution 7, by Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, calls for passage of the proposed “abolition amendment,” which seeks to eliminate what’s known as the “punishment clause” of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery after the Civil War.
The 13th amendment reads in part, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
Those words, “except as a punishment for a crime,” have been used in the years since the Civil War to require prisoners, a disproportionate number of whom are people of color, to perform manual labor, typically for little or no compensation.
“Because you have to understand that since the beginning, African Americans have provided free labor to this country, and even incarcerated, they are providing free labor,” Flowers said during debate on the resolution. “But you forget that these men who are providing free labor while they’re incarcerated, they have families that need their support. And so if they’re working, they should be paid.”
In December, congressional Democrats introduced a joint resolution that would add another amendment to the Constitution, effectively eliminating the punishment clause. It would read: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude may be imposed as a punishment for a crime.”
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., chief sponsor of the federal proposal, issued a statement saying the 13th Amendment continues to operate as a means of profiting from involuntary labor.
“To this day, many states and the federal government mandate that all able-bodied incarcerated people work,” the statement read. “Incarcerated people are not protected by workplace safety laws that help keep other Americans safe on the job. Even today, 155 years after slavery was supposedly abolished in the United States, private prison corporations profit from forced labor, as do companies that sell their goods – which are made by forced labor from un- or under-compensated people – to unsuspecting consumers.”
State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, noted during the debate that many state constitutions contain similar language but that some, most recently Utah and Nebraska, have passed state-level amendments removing those provisions.
“So I think that gives a sense to our colleagues about the importance of this across the country,” he said. “If states are looking at their own constitutions with the same language and taking action that’s happening potentially on the federal level, it’s probably a good thing to do.”
Flowers’ resolution passed the House on a voice vote. It will next be sent to the Senate for consideration.
D.C. statehood
Also Wednesday, the House passed House Joint Resolution 16 urging Congress to pass legislation making Washington, D.C., the 51st state.
“Washington, D.C., has over 700,000 residents, more than the states of Wyoming or Vermont, and comparable to the states of Alaska and North Dakota,” Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, said on the House floor. “However, these 700,000 Americans have no U.S. senators, no voting representation in the U.S. House, no ability to control their own budget. The city that is the seat of our great government, a 47-percent African American city, is an emblem of disenfranchisement.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. House passed legislation authorizing statehood for the district, which would be renamed Washington, Douglass Commonwealth. But that legislation passed on a straight party-line vote, 216-208, with no Republicans supporting it.
It is now sitting in the evenly-divided U.S. Senate where its chances of passage are considered negligible, primarily because it would allocate two U.S. Senate seats and one House seat to the heavily Democratic-leaning new state, tipping the balance of power in Congress that much toward the Democrats.
Guzzardi’s resolution passed the Illinois House on a similar party-line vote, 71-42. It now moves to the state Senate.
Both resolutions are symbolic in nature, merely expressing to federal officials the sentiment of the Illinois General Assembly.
Those votes came on a day when the state House focused almost entirely on symbolic and honorary resolutions, including several that rename stretches of state highways in honor of fallen U.S. soldiers from Illinois.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
Rush rips USDA over plight of black farmers
Spread the love‘House is on fire,’ congressman says From staff reports U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-1st) recently questioned U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about what Rush called “the dire prognosis of black farmers in the U.S. and the steps USDA is taking to help minority farmers.” “As you well know, our nation’s…
Charge man with Archer Heights carjacking
Spread the loveBy Tim Hadac Police say they’ve solved a carjacking that occurred in Archer Heights earlier this month. An 18-year-old Southeast Side man was charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking in connection with the crime. Monte Handley, of the 9000 block of South Muskegon, was apprehended by police in the 7500 block of South Ellis…
Charge man in shooting of 2
Spread the loveBy Tim Hadac A 22-year-old West Lawn man was charged with two counts of aggravated battery, as well as aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, after he was arrested in the 3700 block of West Marquette Road at 4:06 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17. Isaiah Barco allegedly shot two men in a crime that…
Many crimes down in Orland, but weapons arrests concerning
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Orland Park Police Chief Joseph Mitchell had mostly good news when revealing the village’s 2021 crime statistics. But one glaring area that has him bothered is the number of unlawful use of a weapon arrests that have been shooting up. Mitchell and Mayor Keith Pekau attribute it to felons from…
Former GOP allies to battle for county board race
Spread the loveGorman wants to reclaim seat from Morrison By Bob Bong A battle royale is brewing in the race for the Republican nomination for Cook County Board’s 17th District. The 17th District is one of only two county board seats held by Republicans and it has only ever had a Republican commissioner dating back…
Palos Park inches closer to gaming solution
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Signs are pointing to the fact there probably will be limited video gaming in Palos Park. Mayor John Mahoney and the village council rejiggered a few things with an ordinance and some of the village codes and the end result is that Monday they asked village attorneys to look into…
Police reports
Spread the loveShot in the head, killed on Archer A 33-year-old man was shot in the head and killed as he drove a vehicle in the 4200 block of South Archer at 5:13 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 22. The victim was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:47 a.m. Police said…
Tabares backs West Lawn Branch Library
Spread the love Twenty-third Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares (left) recently toured the renovated West Lawn Branch Library, 4020 W. 63rd St.,, with new branch manager Mina Duarte. Details about the renovation’s may be found in the West Lawn column in the January 28 Greater Southwest News-Herald. –Supplied photo
Neighbors
‘Curtis got it done’
Spread the love. Pete’s Fresh Market opens at 87/Kedzie . By Tim Hadac A grand opening that wasn’t supposed to happen…happened in Ashburn this month. For 18th Ward Ald. Derrick G. Curtis, architect of the development, it was a time of joy and nervous energy. “I didn’t get any sleep last night,” he told several…
Learning history is fun, honest
Spread the love Seventh and eighth graders from Our Lady of the Snows School clamor to rub the nose of a bust of President Abraham Lincoln during a field trip to Springfield earlier this month. Rubbing the nose of the famous bust of Honest Abe–a part of the tomb of the nation’s 16th President–is said…
Fight to save ShotSpotter is still alive
Spread the love. By Tim Hadac Editor Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound (708)-496-0265 . As you have read several times in the Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound, the people of Clearing and Garfield Ridge are clear in their support of keeping ShotSpotter technology deployed in Chicago, to help police fight crime. So I won’t go over old…
63rd Street getting a facelift
Spread the love. Quinn hails federally funded resurfacing project . By Tim Hadac The old joke about there being not four seasons, but just two in Chicago each year—winter and construction—was apparent late last week as heavy equipment arrived in Clearing. As 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn and other city officials gathered for an outdoor…
Tabares blasts Foxx over ‘no seizure’ idea
Spread the love. Brands State’s Attorney as ‘pro-criminal’ . By Tim Hadac Twenty-third Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares this week blasted outgoing Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx over a possible change in how crimes are—or are not–prosecuted.Foxx recently said she is considering a plan to decline to prosecute weapons and drug crimes detected by routine…
School can get messy
Spread the love Second grader Weronika Kozielec squirts ketchup on the head of Our Lady of the Snows School Principal Christina Avis at a recent gathering in the parking lot of the school, 4810 S. Leamington. But the condiment was not all that was dumped on the principal. Students, faculty and staff laughed and cheered…
Brother, what a day today is
Spread the love. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . May 24 is National Brothers Day. The word “brother” comes from the Latin root for “frater” and the Proto-Germanic word “brothar” which itself comes from the Proto-Indo-European root “bhrater.” I’m sure everyone already knows that, but…
May your Memorial Day be meaningful
Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 517-7796 . I hope we all will have a meaningful Memorial Day. Let us remember that this day is set to honor military personnel who died in service of their country. Memorial Day also marks…