Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago - File #: 20-0685

• File #: 20-0685
• Version: 1
• Type: Resolution
• Status: Adopted
• File created: 8/20/2020
• In control: Miscellaneous & New Business
• On agenda: 9/3/2020
• Final action: 9/3/2020
• Title: RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
9/3/2020	1	Board of Commissioners	Adopted	Pass

RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

Title

RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners celebrating the 100^th Anniversary of the passage of the 19^th Amendment

Body

WHEREAS, August 18, 2020 marked the centennial anniversary of the passage of the 19^th Amendment to the United States Constitution.  The 19^th Amendment provided that women’s right to vote “shall not be denied or abridged; and

WHEREAS, the fight for women’s suffrage can be traced back to the 1820s when women’s temperance leagues began to fight for political equality and power.  In July of 1848, with the commencement of the Seneca Falls Convention, the fight for suffrage gained national momentum; and

WHEREAS, on January 10, 1878, Senator Aaron Sargent from California introduced Senate Resolution 12 (later known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment) providing for women’s suffrage.  This was the first time that amending the United States Constitution to guarantee women the right to vote was introduced.  Forty-two years later, it would be the language contained in this Resolution that would be passed as the 19^th Amendment; and

WHEREAS, Illinois was one of the first three states to approve the 19^th Amendment on June 10, 1919, along with neighboring states Wisconsin and Michigan.  With the approval of Tennessee on August 18, 1920, the 19^th Amendment to the United States Constitution was thereby ratified; and

WHEREAS, on November 2, 1920, the first election after the passage of the 19^th Amendment was held.  Proudly, resiliently, and enthusiastically, 36% of eligible women voters participated in the election; and

WHEREAS, in every presidential election since 1980, the number of women that participated in the election surpassed the number of men.  Additionally, in every mid-term election since 1998, the number of women voters has surpassed the number of men voters; and

WHEREAS, the passage of the 19^th Amendment was not just about women having the right to vote.  Instead, the 19^th Amendment was one more step toward achieving the goal of the United States, as stated in the preamble to the Constitution, “to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and staff, do hereby celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the passage of the 19^th Amendment and acknowledge the monumental impact that the 19^th Amendment has had on the fabric of American life; 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.

Dated: September 3, 2020