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May 15, 2018
FROM:
Bonnie Cox, LWVIL President
Hilary Denk, LWVIL Issues Chair
Sharon Alter, ERA Issue Specialist
RE: SJRCA4 Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
ACTION NEEDED: Today (May 15) or
tomorrow (
May 16)
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/
SJRCA4 may be called for a House floor debate and a vote this week! Your action is critical!!
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!
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!
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