Sharon Alter, ERA Issue Specialist
RE: SJRCA4 Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
ACTIONS NEEDED:
- On Monday, May 7 the Illinois House Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on SJRCA4 the Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment on the Equal Rights Amendment. Please complete and send your witness slip in support of SJRCA4 before 10:00 am Monday, May 7.
Link to House Hearing Details and witness slip - see below for How to File a Witness Slip: http://my.ilga.gov/Hearing/HearingDetail/15992
- Contact your Illinois state representative to vote YES for SJRCA4. Even if you think your state representative is supportive, reinforce that support. Even if you think your state representative is in opposition, please encourage a YES vote. Find phone numbers for your legislators at https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/
WHY IT MATTERS:
In April 2018, the Illinois Senate with 43 votes supported SJRCA4. Now the ERA must pass the Illinois House by a 3/5 majority of the House membership for Illinois to become the 37th state to ratify the ERA! Therefore, an absence on the day of the House vote or a vote present vote on the House floor is equivalent to a no vote. We need 71 yes votes in the House!
At the
May 7 House Human Resources Committee hearing on the ERA, it is imperative to show support for ERA before a scheduled House floor vote. Therefore, your witness slip in support must be submitted no later than
10am on
May 7. That support is critical!
The Illinois Constitution has an equal rights clause: "The equal protection of the laws shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex by the State or its units of local government and school districts." (Article I, Section 18)
That clause does not apply to the US government or to other states as the ERA would if it were part of the US Constitution. Passage of the ERA needs ratification of 38 states. With Illinois' ratification, the ERA would need ratification by just one more state!
