---
type: "Bill"
title: "BARACK OBAMA DAY"
description: "Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Provides that August 4th of each year is designated as Barack Obama Day."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "100th"
identifier: "SB 55"
citation: "Illinois SB 55 (100th)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 42
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2016-12-28"
last_action: "2017-08-04"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/5dc343a5-7eb2-4614-b647-2cb05eb62f03"
source_url: "http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=55&GAID=14&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=99299&SessionID=91&GA=100"
source_hash: "a3c068b231d72073044ebefe76e8c69377cf99dbd84b7cc65c8e3cd907e8260f"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-il"]
---

# Illinois SB 55 (100th) — BARACK OBAMA DAY

Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Provides that August 4th of each year is designated as Barack Obama Day.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=10000SB0055&GA=100&SessionId=91&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=99299&DocNum=55&GAID=14&Session=&print=true)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=10000SB0055eng&GA=100&SessionId=91&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=99299&DocNum=55&GAID=14&Session=&print=true)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=10000SB0055enr&GA=100&SessionId=91&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=99299&DocNum=55&GAID=14&Session=&print=true)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **87–0** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **47–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Al Riley — cosponsor (person)
- Carol Ammons — cosponsor (person)
- Emil Jones, III — primary (person)
- Juliana Stratton — cosponsor (person)
- La Shawn K. Ford — cosponsor (person)
- William Davis — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2016-12-28** Prefiled with Secretary by Sen. Emil Jones, III `filing`
- **2017-01-11** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2017-01-11** Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2017-01-18** Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins
- **2017-01-24** Assigned to State Government `referral-committee`
- **2017-01-27** Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Patricia Van Pelt
- **2017-02-09** Do Pass State Government; 008-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2017-02-09** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading February 15, 2017
- **2017-02-16** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2017-02-16** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading February 28, 2017
- **2017-02-16** Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Terry Link
- **2017-02-16** Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Iris Y. Martinez
- **2017-02-17** Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Mattie Hunter
- **2017-02-17** Sponsor Removed Sen. Mattie Hunter
- **2017-03-29** Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Mattie Hunter
- **2017-03-29** Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Donne E. Trotter
- **2017-03-29** Third Reading - Passed; 047-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2017-03-29** Arrived in House `introduction`
- **2017-03-29** Chief House Sponsor Rep. Arthur Turner
- **2017-03-30** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2017-03-30** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2017-04-25** Alternate Chief Sponsor Changed to Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr.
- **2017-05-03** Assigned to State Government Administration Committee `referral-committee`
- **2017-05-10** Do Pass / Short Debate State Government Administration Committee; 007-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2017-05-11** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
- **2017-05-16** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2017-05-16** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2017-05-18** Added Alternate Co-Sponsor Rep. Carol Ammons
- **2017-05-18** Added Alternate Co-Sponsor Rep. Litesa E. Wallace
- **2017-05-18** Added Alternate Co-Sponsor Rep. William Davis
- **2017-05-18** Added Alternate Co-Sponsor Rep. Juliana Stratton
- **2017-05-18** Added Alternate Co-Sponsor Rep. La Shawn K. Ford
- **2017-05-18** Added Alternate Co-Sponsor Rep. Al Riley
- **2017-05-18** Added Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Sonya M. Harper
- **2017-05-18** Added Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Litesa E. Wallace
- **2017-05-18** Alternate Co-Sponsor Removed Rep. Litesa E. Wallace
- **2017-05-19** Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 087-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2017-05-19** Passed Both Houses
- **2017-06-16** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2017-08-04** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2017-08-04** Effective Date January 1, 2018
- **2017-08-04** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-0037 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/5dc343a5-7eb2-4614-b647-2cb05eb62f03`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).