Committee on Health And Human Relations (
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is a welcoming and inclusive city that seeks to respect and honor the lived experiences of its residents and its public servants, and
WHEREAS, the combined statutes of the State of Illinois (ILCS) govern the structures of municipal governments and the conduct of elections within the state, and set forth the offices for which public elections are to be held, and
WHEREAS, the term "Alderman" currently enshrined in law as the office held by members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, as well as other municipalities governed by similar sections ofthe ILCS, derives from explicitly gendered language denoting an "elder man" ofthe community, and
WHEREAS, there have at times in the history of Illinois been candidates seeking recognition as "Alderwoman" or other terms more representative of their gender identity who were denied the ability to do so, or were denied access to the ballot on the basis of their use of a title other than "Alderman," and
WHEREAS, the power to amend the iLCS and enshrine in law a gender-neutral term for the members ofthe City Council of Chicago, and of other municipalities governed by similar sections ofthe ILCS, lies with the Legislature ofthe State of Illinois, now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the City Council ofthe City of Chicago, assembled here on this
day of , 20 , do hereby call upon the State Assembly and State Senate of
Illinois to introduce, take up, and pass legislation amending in all places the use ofthe word "Alderman" in the ILCS to instead use the gender-neutral title "Alder," and in all places the use ofthe plural "Aldermen" to instead read "Alders."