RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the United States is a nation founded by immigrants, many seeking freedom from religious persecution;
WHEREAS, the United States has enshrined freedom of religion as one of our nation's most fundamental legal and ethical principles; and
WHEREAS, more than seven million Arab and Muslim Americans live in the United States and over 400,000 live in the greater Chicago area and make invaluable contributions to our economic, social and political life and culture; and
WHEREAS, Arab and Muslims Americans have contributed greatly to building this nation, including:
Colonel James Jabara, the "First Jet Ace" in the Korean War;
Four Star General George Joulwan, former Commander of NATO;
Michael Monsour, a Navy Seal who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush for his military service in Iraq;
Captain Humayun Khan, posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for saving the lives of hundreds of soldiers in Iraq. Capt. Khan's father eulogized his son at the 2016 Democratic National Convention last summer;
Christa McAuliffe, the "first school teacher in space," who perished on the space shuttle "Challenger";
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader;
Former United States Senators: Spencer Abraham, George Mitchell (majority leader), James Abdnor, James Abourezk, John Sinunu, and
former Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood of Illinois.
Congressmen: Keith Ellison, Andre Carson, Darrell Issa, and Darin LaHood of Illinois.
Candy Lightner, the founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving;
Dr. Michael DeBakey, the Houston heart surgeon who perfected the artificial heart;
Farouk El Baz, the NASA scientist who trained lunar astronauts;
Nobel Prize winners Ahmed Zewail (Physics) and Elias Corey
(Chemistry);
• Danny Thomas, who founded St. Jude Children Research Hospital
with the help of Cardinal Samuel Stritch and other Chicagoans. St. Jude's has reversed the mortality rate of Childhood Leukemia from 95% to 5%;
WHEREAS, after the murderous terrorist attacks upon our country on September 11, 2001, Arab and Muslim Americans experienced an unprecedented backlash of hate speech, violence and discrimination, resulting in homicides, arsons, assaults and batteries throughout the United States;
WHEREAS, certain political leaders in our nation have recently engaged in a new wave of discriminatory rhetoric, which unjustly defames Americans based upon their Muslim faith and their Arab ancestry;
WHEREAS, this recent discriminatory rhetoric has led to a new wave of homicides, arsons, assaults and batteries against Arab and Muslim Americans (and those who resemble them), as well as other minorities in the United States, as documented by recent data from the F.B.I., the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Zogby Polls;
WHEREAS, the federal government recently has promulgated Executive Orders which impose travel bans and stepped up enforcement of federal immigration laws; and
WHEREAS, these Executive Orders, combined with recent political rhetoric, have led many in the Muslim and Arab communities, and other immigrant and minority communities, to express fears that future Executive Orders will be implemented that impose federal registration and even internment of persons based upon their religious beliefs and/or nationality, citing Korematsu v. United States (312 U.S. 214), a case in which the Supreme Court upheld a Presidential Executive Order calling for the internment of 120,000 Japanese-American citizens and non-citizens during World War II;
WHEREAS, elected and appointed officials at all level of government have a solemn duty and responsibility to denounce any attempt to impose unconstitutional measures on Arab and Muslim Americans, or other minorities, based upon religion or nationality, without due process of law; and
WHEREAS, we, as elected representatives of the people, have a special duty to speak out against hate violence, hate speech, and discriminatory governmental action; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Mayor and City Council of the City of Chicago, condemn in the strongest possible terms any attempt to deprive Arab and Muslim Americans, or any ethnic or religious group, of their rights; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we, the Mayor and the City Council of the City of Chicago specifically condemns any governmental action that would unconstitutionally ban, register or intern any U.S. Citizen or immigrant based upon their religion, ethnicity, or color of skin, including Arab and Muslim Americans; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to President Donald Trump, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and members of the Illinois Congressional delegation.