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| Public Act 100-0913
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| HB5544 Enrolled | LRB100 20125 RJF 36163 b |
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AN ACT concerning State government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the |
Illinois Council on Women and Girls Act.
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Section 5. Findings and declaration of policy. The General |
Assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares the following:
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(1) the number of women and girls, of all ages in |
Illinois as of 2013, was close to half of the State's |
population, at 6,560,187;
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(2) approximately 13% of the total population of the |
women are immigrants;
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(3) Illinois women who work full-time, year-round, |
earn 80 cents on the dollar compared with similarly |
employed men;
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(4) approximately 28.2% of those working in science, |
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in |
Illinois are women, compared with 28.8% nationwide;
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(5) approximately 32.7% of women in Illinois have a |
bachelor's degree or higher, which is an increase of about |
8 percentage points since the 2000;
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(6) women in Illinois who are unionized earn $122 more |
per week, on average, than those who are not represented by |
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a union;
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(7) approximately 61% of women in Illinois are part of |
the labor force, and 27.2% of businesses in Illinois are |
owned by women;
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(8) heart disease is the biggest killer of women in the |
United States, and Illinois ranks 29 of 51 with a mortality |
rate of 136.9 per 100,000 women, specifically, 133.8 for |
Caucasian women, 79.8 Hispanic women, 186.1 for African |
American women, 70.5 for Pacific Islander women, and 72.1 |
for Native American women;
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(9) the female lung cancer mortality rates for women, |
per 100,000, in 2011-2013, was 42.0 for Caucasian women, |
11.6 for Hispanic women; 44.2 for African American women; |
and 15.8 for Pacific Islander women;
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(10) the female breast cancer mortality rates for |
women, per 100,000, in 2011-2013, was 22.8 for Caucasian |
women, 10.6 for Hispanic women, 32.6 for African American |
women, and 11.5 for Pacific Islander women; and
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(11) wide racial and ethnic disparities exist in |
Illinois pregnancy-related mortality rates, which in 2013, |
in deaths per 100,000 births, were 8.1 for Caucasian women |
and 28.9 for African American women, and the severe |
maternal morbidity rate for Illinois between 2011-2013 was |
higher than the national rate; |
(12) teen pregnancy is often unintended and can have |
long-term negative health effects on future physical, |
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behavioral, educational, and economic development of |
mothers and children, and teen birth rates in Illinois are |
significantly higher for African American and Hispanic |
teens than for Caucasian teens; |
(13) women who are transgender experience high rates of |
discrimination, harassment, and violence in every aspect |
of their lives, including health care settings, other |
public accommodations, housing, and employment; and |
(14) approximately 65.9% of women in Illinois are |
registered to vote. |
Based on the foregoing findings, the General Assembly |
determines and declares that it is the public policy of the |
State of Illinois to provide fair and equal access for women in |
Illinois to adequate healthcare, resources for professional |
and academic opportunity, and resources for safety and proper |
living conditions for them and their young children, paying |
attention to the variances of impact in these areas along the |
lines of race and ethnicity.
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Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
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"Council" means the Illinois Council on Women and Girls |
created by this Act.
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"Woman" or "women" means all persons of the female gender, |
including both cisgender and transgender persons. |
"Transgender" describes persons whose gender identity is |
different from the gender they were assigned at birth. |
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"Cisgender" describes persons whose gender identity is the |
same as the gender they were assigned at birth. |
"Gender identity" means a person's deeply felt, inherent |
sense of who they are as a particular gender, such as female.
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Section 15. The Illinois Council on Women and Girls.
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(a) There is hereby created the Illinois Council on Women |
and Girls.
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(b) The Council shall advise the Governor and the General |
Assembly on policy issues impacting women and girls in this |
State, including, but not limited to, the following goals:
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(1) to advance the role and civic participation of |
women and girls in this State;
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(2) to put in place programs and advocate policies that |
work to end the gender pay gap and discrimination in |
professional and academic opportunities;
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(3) to promote resources and opportunities for |
academic and professional growth;
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(4) to allow women and young girls to have legal |
protections and recourse in cases of sexual harassment in |
the workplace;
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(5) to prevent and protect women from domestic |
violence; |
(6) to provide proper standards of healthcare, and to |
study the disparate impacts on women as it pertains to |
diverse demographics;
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(7) to promote increased access to reproductive health |
care; |
(8) to protect women who are transgender from violence |
and harassment, and increase their fair and equal access to |
culturally competent health care, housing, employment, and |
other opportunities; |
(9) to disseminate information and build relationships |
between State agencies and commissions in furtherance of |
the Council's goals under this Act; and |
(10) to give significant attention to the inclusion of |
women of color in decision-making capacities and |
identifying barriers toward parity, and for leadership |
inclusion that works to realize America's founding |
principles of equity and opportunity for all.
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Section 20. Council members.
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(a) The Council shall consist of 21 members. The Governor |
shall appoint one member to be the representative of the Office |
of the Governor. The Governor, the President of the Senate, the |
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of |
the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the House of |
Representatives shall also each appoint 4 public members to the |
Council. The Governor shall select the chairperson of the |
Council from among the members.
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(b) Appointing authorities shall ensure, to the maximum |
extent practicable, that the Council is diverse with respect to |
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race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and |
geography.
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(c) Appointments to the Council shall be persons of |
recognized ability and experience in one or more of the |
following areas: higher education, business, law, social |
services, human services, immigration, refugee services, |
community development, or healthcare.
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(d) Members of the Council shall serve 2-year terms. A |
member shall serve until his or her successor shall be |
appointed and qualified. Members of the Council shall not be |
entitled to compensation for their services as members.
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(e) The following officials shall serve as ex officio |
members: the Lieutenant Governor, or his or her designee, and |
the Chief of the Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Services |
within the Department of Human Services, or his or her |
designee. Additionally, the Director, Executive Director, or |
Superintendent of the following State agencies shall each |
appoint one liaison to serve as an ex officio member of the |
Council: the Department on Aging, the Department of Human |
Rights, the Department of Children and Family Services, the |
Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the Department of |
Public Health, the Department of Labor, the Illinois State |
Board of Education, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and |
the Illinois Community College Board.
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(f) The Council may establish committees that address |
certain issues, including, but not limited to, communications, |
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economic development, and legislative affairs.
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(g) The Office of the Governor shall provide administrative |
and technical support to the Council, including a staff member |
to serve as the Council's ethics officer.
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Section 25. Meetings. The Council shall meet at least once |
per quarter. In addition, the Council may hold up to 2 public |
hearings annually to assist in the development of policy |
recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly, and |
implement programming to meet its overall mission goals. All |
meetings of the Council shall be conducted in accordance with |
the Open Meetings Act. A majority of current non-ex-officio |
members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.
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Section 30. Reports. The Council shall electronically |
issue semi-annual
reports on its policy recommendations by June |
30th and December
31st of each year to the Governor and the |
General Assembly. The reports issued to the General Assembly |
under this Section shall be filed electronically with the |
General Assembly as provided under Section 3.1 of the General |
Assembly Organization Act, and shall be provided to any member |
of the General Assembly upon request.
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Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are |
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
