Illinois Reps Want To Make Barack Obama's Birthday A Legal State Holiday

By Stephen Gossett in News on Feb 7, 2017 5:25PM

Photo: Tyler LaRiviere

While Barack Obama lives it up in the sun in his post-POTUS life, some Illinois state lawmakers are trying to honor the work he did while in office with a special designation: make Obama’s birthday a state holiday in Illinois.

The proposal has been submitted in three separate bills, in fact. Two House bills both seek to designate Aug. 4 a legal holiday. That means, if passed, state government offices would be closed that day, and schools and businesses could make the choice to follow suit.

The bill introduced in the state Senate, however, would only mark a commemorative holiday for “Barack Obama Day,” meaning government agencies would remain open on Aug. 4.

Rep. Sonya Harper, a Democrat from Chicago, sponsored one of the House bills under consideration and singled out Obama as one of the best commanders-in-chief. "He is from our great state, served in the Illinois General Assembly as a senator, and lists Chicago as his hometown," Harper said, via the State Journal-Register. "In my lifetime, he's one of the greatest examples of an American president. Just like President (George) Washington and President (Abraham) Lincoln, I believe President Obama should be right up there and we need to celebrate his birthday."

The sponsor of the second House bill, Rep. Andre Thapedi, also a Chicago-area Democrat, floated the idea a year ago but Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office pushed back, claiming it would cost Illinois $3 million in workers’ salary and the state would lose an additional $16 million in productivity loss. Thapedi says those numbers are very much inflated, but he agreed he would back off the proposal until a later date if a better estimate also proved too costly, according to SJ-R.

If passed into law, Barack Obama Day would be the first state holiday in Illinois since 1977's Casimir Pulaski Day was ushered in to the delight of Big Black and Sufjan Stevens.