Bill Text: IL HR0042 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges the Governor to create a commission to confront the economic problems that still plague African-American communities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-03-15 - Resolution Adopted [HR0042 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HR0042-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives recognize that over the last 150 years,
beginning with the Emancipation Proclamation, African
Americans have made strides and advancements toward equality;
the Civil Rights Movement enabled groundbreaking legislation
such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965; today, we pay annual
tribute to one of the pioneers and most prominent stars of the
Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; however,
there is still much work to be done particularly as it relates
to the economic disparity in too many African American
communities; and
WHEREAS, We recognize that communities throughout Illinois
are struggling under the weight of many economic and social
problems including unemployment, poverty, mortgage
foreclosures, deficiencies in public health services, and
crime; and
WHEREAS, These economic and societal challenges created or
exacerbated conditions which include inequalities in access to
justice in the civil court system, an overburdened and
ineffective criminal justice system, overcrowding conditions
in correctional facilities, increased homelessness, increases
in teen pregnancy, inadequate educational opportunities, a

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lack of affordable housing, insufficient delivery of social
services to the less fortunate, and deficiencies in the
delivery of public health services; and
WHEREAS, Although unemployment is a lingering problem for
the economy as a whole, a recent study revealed that the recent
unemployment rate for blacks in Illinois was 17.5%, compared to
8.2% for whites, and 9.8% for all workers; and
WHEREAS, In 2016, there were 762 murders in the City of
Chicago - the deadliest year in nearly two decades and an
increase of over 50% from the previous year; five police
districts on the south and west sides of the city accounted for
nearly two-thirds of the increase in murders; 75% of those
murdered in Chicago are black; and
WHEREAS, The teen birth rate in the United States was
recently 38.1 births for every 1,000 teens, but in a comparable
time period in Illinois the teen birth rate was 77.9 births for
every 1,000 teens for black teens, while the white teen birth
rate was 20.6 per every 1,000 teens; and
WHEREAS, The inmate population in the Illinois
Correctional system is approximately 58% black, and the high
proportion of young black males with criminal convictions is a
well-recognized phenomenon; and

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WHEREAS, Black leaders in Illinois are not alone in
recognizing that these broad social problems often strike the
hardest in the black community; and
WHEREAS, It is painful for the black leaders to ponder the
stories of human struggle, despair, and hurt that all too often
over shadow the stories of success and hope; and
WHEREAS, State government resources are expended in
ever-increasing amounts to address these social and economic
problems and those expenditures are a significant drain on the
State's road to financial stability; and
WHEREAS, State government, taxpayers, members of the
General Assembly, and the black community could benefit from
the creation of an action plan that identifies: what
modifications could be made to existing State of Illinois
programs, including those statutory and regulatory changes to
the current laws and regulations in Illinois that could
dramatically improve the delivery of services and also reduce
wasteful spending, how leadership programs and new educational
opportunities will foster and equip new leadership in the black
community, and ways in which State government may actively
create a change environment that will have positive impacts on
the many social problems that exist in Illinois, especially in

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the black community; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
urge the Governor to create a commission, composed of
stakeholders in the communities where these problems continue
to devastated families, representatives of appropriate State
agencies, ministers, business leaders, and all community
appropriate stake holders to explore, discuss, and coordinate
efforts to prepare an action plan to offer enhanced State
governmental services in a meaningful way, foster leadership in
communities, and create programs that can foster success in
addressing the myriad of social and economic problems in the
affected communities; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we urge that the Governor appoint members of
the commission by August 1, 2017 so as to allow the commission
to hold its first meeting soon after the appointments; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That the commission be charged with: finding and
creating innovative means to address and meet the numerous
needs of the black community, designing plans to assist and
enhance the efforts of State agencies and local governments
that serve blacks in communities throughout the State,
analyzing other successful State and local governmental

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programs in law enforcement, job retraining, education,
economic opportunity, job creation, social services, and
public health, and developing an action plan that includes
information about changes and improvements to existing
programs that can be made without allocating additional tax
dollars to the programs by reallocating existing resources; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That we urge the commission to hold public
hearings and issue a written report of its findings and
recommendations to the Governor and to the General Assembly on
or before December 30, 2018; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
delivered to Governor Bruce Rauner.