'Barack Obama Day' Signed Into Law: Former President's Birthday Is Now an Official Holiday in Illinois
The state of Illinois now has an official reason to celebrate former U.S. President Barack Obama's birthday with him. The state governor has just signed a law designating Aug. 4 as "Barack Obama Day," officially starting next year.
State Governor Bruce Rauner signed the bill proclaiming "Barack Obama Day" as a state holiday into law last Friday, Aug. 4, according to the Washington Examiner. The former president celebrated his 56th birthday on the date as well.
With the holiday now official, Illinois gets to celebrate Barack Obama's birthday with him every year, starting in 2018. The proposal passed without a single "no" vote, although a few abstained from voting for the measure from both chambers of the state legislature.
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Republican Gov. Rauner then signed the bill into law as Obama's home state celebrated the 44th President's birthday with him. The Associated Press via the Independent reports that rather than as an official state holiday, "Barack Obama Day" is instead a day of recognition for Obama.
While the measure received near-unanimous support from the Legislature, which is mostly Democrat-led, the proposal almost got rejected on its way up from the Illinois House. Concerns that another state holiday will add to the paid days off for state employees for the financially troubled state led to some "no" votes in the state house.
The bill noted Obama's contribution to the state, honoring the former president as someone "who began his career serving the People of Illinois in both the Illinois State Senate and the United States Senate, and dedicated his life to protecting the rights of Americans and building bridges across communities."
Obama began his career in politics in the Illinois Senate in 1997, where he served until gaining a seat in the U.S. Senate in 2004. Since his retirement from the presidency, Obama has been largely enjoying his free time between the occasional politics-related work.
