Human Relations
SUBSTITUTE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is proud to be one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, where one-out-of-five of the city's residents was born outside of the United States; and
WHEREAS, with residents from over 140 countries and more than 100 languages spoken in our city, Chicago is a city of immigrants; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago metropolitan area is home to large numbers of immigrants from Mexico, Poland, India, the Philippines, China, Korea, Germany, Guatemala, Ukraine, and Italy; and
WHEREAS, language barriers can pose difficulties with everyday communications for many as there are 350,000 foreign-born Chicago residents who describe themselves as speaking English "less than very well," which represents 62% of Chicago's immigrant population; and
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2014 Illinois State Senator Iris Martinez introduced Senate Bill 977 which, if passed into law, would allow all citizens whose predominant language is not English to fulfill their civic duty by serving on juries for both civil and criminal cases; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 977 proposes to amend the Jury Act (705 ILCS 305/2), the Jury Secrecy Act (705 ILCS 315.1), and the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure to allow jurors to utilize an interpreter or translator throughout trial and jury deliberations; and
WHEREAS, on March 25, 2014, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on the bill and voted the bill out of committee for consideration by the full Senate; and
WHEREAS, Illinois State Senator Iris Martinez made further amendments to Senate Bill 977 which would create a pilot program involving the counties of Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, and Kane. These counties would provide jurors an interpreter or translator throughout trial and jury deliberation if said jurors predominant language is not English; and
WHEREAS, on May 6, 2014, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on the amended Senate Bill 977 and voted the bill out of committee for co...
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