Northville Township Becomes First Board to Adopt Proclamation of Gratitude to Almighty God and Recurrence to Fundamental Principles
Historic unanimous vote marks first adoption of proclamation advanced by Defend LaSalle and The United States Patriots Society
Northville Township | Yorkville Herald
Northville Township in LaSalle County has become the first local governing board to formally adopt the Proclamation of Gratitude to Almighty God and Recurrence to Fundamental Principles, approving the measure by a unanimous vote.
The vote marks a significant milestone for Defend LaSalle and The United States Patriots Society, whose members have been encouraging local governments to publicly reaffirm the principles upon which American self-government was established as the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary.
What began as a grassroots effort to ask public officials to remember and reaffirm the nation’s founding principles has now resulted in an official act of government.
Northville Township is the first board to say yes.
The proclamation calls upon Americans to remember that liberty and constitutional government did not emerge in a historical vacuum. It recognizes the public acknowledgment of God found throughout America’s founding history and encourages citizens to return regularly to the fundamental principles necessary to preserve liberty.
That language has particular significance in Illinois.
The Preamble to the Illinois Constitution begins by declaring that the people of the state are “grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty which He has permitted us to enjoy” and are “seeking His blessing upon our endeavors.”
The Illinois Bill of Rights goes even further. Article I, Section 23 states: “A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of civil government is necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty.” It adds that those blessings cannot endure unless the people recognize their corresponding obligations and responsibilities.
The proclamation brings those two constitutional ideas together: gratitude for the liberty
Americans have received and the responsibility to remember the principles necessary to preserve it.
Defend LaSalle has encouraged residents to bring the proclamation before township boards, county boards, city councils and other local governing bodies. The organization describes the measure as an opportunity for communities to give public expression to gratitude to Almighty God while reaffirming the principles of ordered liberty and constitutional self-government.
The effort has also been advanced through The United States Patriots Society, whose broader mission includes preserving America’s history and founding principles and encouraging citizens to become actively engaged in their communities.
Northville Township’s unanimous adoption is therefore more than a symbolic first for the organizations involved. It demonstrates that citizens can bring an idea before their local representatives, make their case, and see that effort become an official public act.
It also comes at a significant moment in American history.
The United States is celebrating 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, a document that speaks repeatedly of God: appealing to the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,” declaring that human beings are “endowed by their Creator” with unalienable rights, appealing to the “Supreme Judge of the world,” and concluding with reliance upon “Divine Providence.”
The proclamation asks communities not simply to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary, but to consider what made those 250 years of liberty and self-government possible and what will be required to preserve those blessings for generations still to come.
For Defend LaSalle and The United States Patriots Society, Northville Township represents the first breakthrough in that effort.
For Northville Township, the vote places a LaSalle County community at the beginning of what supporters hope will become a much larger movement of local governments returning to America’s founding documents and publicly reaffirming the principles they contain.
The first board has now acted. The question is which community will be next.
More information about the proclamation and the supporting constitutional and historical materials is available through Defend LaSalle’s Proclamations & Resolutions project at defendlasalle.com.
Sources:
Illinois Constitution. Illinois General Assembly Legislative Reference Bureau, https://lrb.ilga.gov/Commission/lrb/conent.htm. Accessed 8 Sept. 2026.
“Proclamations & Resolutions.” Defend LaSalle, https://www.defendlasalle.com/proclamationsandresolutions. Accessed 8 Sept. 2026.
September 8, 2026 Agenda. Northville Township of Illinois, 8 Sept. 2026, https://northvilletownshipofil.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/September-8-2026-Agenda.pdf. Accessed 8 Sept. 2026.
Northville Township. Regular Township Meeting. 8 Sept. 2026, Northville Township Hall, Sandwich, IL. Meeting.