RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF JUNE 6, 2019
Title
RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Illinois being the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
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WHEREAS, the State of Illinois always positioned itself at the forefront of the women’s suffrage movement; and
WHEREAS, the first women’s suffrage association in Illinois was established in Earlville in 1855; and
WHEREAS, the first statewide suffrage organization, the Illinois Woman Suffrage Association was established in 1869. The name was later changed to the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association in 1891; and
WHEREAS, also in 1891, the State of 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 women in Illinois a limited right to vote in federal and municipal elections, including presidential elections. With the enactment of this law, Illinois became the first state east of the Mississippi River to give women the right to vote; and
WHEREAS, the Presidential Suffrage Bill 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, on June 10, 1919, Illinois became the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment (one hour prior to Wisconsin); and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, do hereby celebrate the women’s suffrage movement and the important role that the State of Illinois played in achieving that right for all women in the United States; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and that a copy of same, suitably engrossed, be presented.
Dated: June 6, 2019