Prairie State Wire

The Illinois General Assembly on Nov. 13 passed a joint resolution to honor those who died in the Tree of Life Synagogue mass shooting in Pittsburgh in October.

The resolution was sponsored by Reps. Jonathan Carrol (D-Buffalo Grove), Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), Lou Lang (D-Skokie), Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), Kelly M. Cassidy (D-Chicago), Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago), Laura Fine (D-Glenview) and Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago).

House members stood for the reading of the resolution.

"We have to talk about these events more often than we used to," Carroll said. "In Pittsburgh a few weeks ago, we had another mass shooting in this country."

Carroll said his family regularly attended synagogue.

"That would be a place that we would find to be a safe haven where we could pray, reflect and all of the above," he said. "That's becoming less and less of an option for us. We put this resolution forward today to honor those who perished in the shooting."

Carroll read the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer of mourning, in Hebrew and translated part of it into English.

"May you establish peace in heaven, give peace to all of us to the earth and let us all say Amen," Carroll said. "May God comfort you among the mourners around the world."

House Joint Resolution 142 states that the House and Senate of the Illinois General Assembly condemn acts of terror and seek to build a safe, inclusive community and reject terrorism.