Bill Text: IL SR0102 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Pledges to promote increased walking, biking, walkability and bike-ability in Illinois in an effort to help reinvigorate mental fortitude amidst a global health crisis.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-02-23 - Referred to Assignments [SR0102 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-SR0102-Introduced.html

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SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Statewide quarantining to reduce the spread of
COVID-19 has left many feeling the effects of what
Northwestern Medicine Psychologist Jacqueline K. Gollan,
Ph.D., calls caution fatigue; and
WHEREAS, Caution fatigue is explained as an exhaustive,
increasingly apathetic and desensitizing feeling toward
COVID-19 and its preventative measures, as well as a growing
restlessness and aversion to stagnation and self-isolation;
and
WHEREAS, Research on self-isolating and loneliness were
published in a new report in 2020 from the National Academies
of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), which notes
that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel
lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are
considered to be socially isolated; and
WHEREAS, Additional studies published in November of 2020,
titled The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on the
Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the Context of
COVID-19, concluded that social distancing and school closures
may increase mental health problems in children and
adolescents, who are already at higher risk of developing

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mental health problems compared to adults, at a time when they
are also experiencing anxiety over a health threat and threats
to family employment/income; and
WHEREAS, The spring of 2021 will brings the opportunity to
safely reintroduce outdoor activities to the general public;
hiking routes, walking paths, and bike trails will offer
Illinois residents, who have been isolating and quarantining
in their homes through the winter, a chance to go outside,
which hosts a list of health benefits; and
WHEREAS, Studies published in the last decade by Harvard
Medical School note that spending time outdoors is not only
beneficial to physical health but has a dramatic effect on
mental health as well; and
WHEREAS, Sunlight hitting the skin begins a process that
leads to the creation and activation of vitamin D within the
body; studies suggest that vitamin D helps fight certain
conditions, from osteoporosis and cancer to depression and
heart attacks; and
WHEREAS, Physical activity, such as walking, cycling, and
doing other things that put the body in motion, promotes the
release of endorphins, a chemical produced by the brain and
spinal cord that produces feelings of happiness and euphoria;

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endorphins are a scientifically-proven mood booster,
decreasing symptoms of both depression and anxiety; and
WHEREAS, Walking and cycling, as forms of physical
exercise, have been proven to provide stress relief, heighten
endurance, improve sleep quality and mood, and increase
energy, stamina, and mental alertness, as well as reduce
cholesterol and improve cardiovascular fitness; and
WHEREAS, The promotion of increased walking and biking,
coupled with proper social distancing procedures and
guidelines, can help Illinois residents combat feelings of
loneliness, stagnation, stress, anxiety, and depression that
are exacerbated by the self-isolations and quarantines of
COVID-19 prevention and caution fatigue; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the State promote
increased walking and biking in Illinois in an effort to help
reinvigorate mental fortitude amidst a global health crisis
and support planning that increases the walkability and
bikeability throughout the State; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we encourage Illinois residents to breathe
new life into their daily activities by practicing outdoor
physical fitness while exercising proper social distancing and

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mask wearing when necessary.