Bill Text: IL SR0244 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the Governor and the Illinois Secretary of State to convene a task force or working group to explore, discuss, and coordinate efforts to conduct a public awareness campaign to educate the general public about the value of cycling to children, along with the safety benefits of children wearing bicycle helmets.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-05-25 - Resolution Adopted [SR0244 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2011-SR0244-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate recognize | ||||||
3 | bicycling as a positive, important activity for children under | ||||||
4 | the age of 16, for the purposes of transportation, exercise, | ||||||
5 | recreation, and general physical and mental well-being; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Five of every six middle school students and more | ||||||
7 | than two of every three high school students report riding | ||||||
8 | bicycles within the past year; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Significant numbers of children are injured while | ||||||
10 | riding bicycles, in many instances with injuries that could | ||||||
11 | have been prevented or reduced in seriousness if the young | ||||||
12 | bicycle riders were wearing bicycle helmets; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Nationally, only 20% to 25% of all bicyclists wear | ||||||
14 | bicycle helmets, despite the fact that nearly 70% of all fatal | ||||||
15 | bicycle crashes involve head injuries; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Bicycle helmets reduce the risk of head injuries | ||||||
17 | by up to 88% and reduce the risk of facial injuries by 65%; | ||||||
18 | thousands of head and facial injuries suffered by Illinois | ||||||
19 | children would be prevented every year if every child wore a | ||||||
20 | bicycle helmet; and
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1 | WHEREAS, 500,000 bicycle-related injuries are treated in | ||||||
2 | U.S. hospital emergency rooms every year, with over half the | ||||||
3 | injured being children and nearly half those injuries involving | ||||||
4 | the head or neck region; and
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5 | WHEREAS, The annual cost of bicycle-related injuries and | ||||||
6 | deaths in the United States is $8 billion; every dollar spent | ||||||
7 | on a bicycle helmet saves our society $30 in indirect medical | ||||||
8 | costs; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Numerous Illinois retailers, community groups, | ||||||
10 | and hospital programs currently make bicycle helmets available | ||||||
11 | to children at low or no cost; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Numerous groups advocate for bicycle helmet usage | ||||||
13 | by children, including the American Academy of Pediatrics | ||||||
14 | (Illinois Chapter), the Brain Injury Association of Illinois, | ||||||
15 | the Chicago Medical Legal Partnership for Children, the | ||||||
16 | Children's Memorial Hospital, the Cook County Department of | ||||||
17 | Public Health, Health and Disability Advocates, Helmets | ||||||
18 | First!, the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians, the Illinois | ||||||
19 | Association of School Nurses, the Illinois Chapter of the | ||||||
20 | Emergency Nurses Association, the Illinois Hospital | ||||||
21 | Association, the Illinois State Medical Society, the Illinois | ||||||
22 | Maternal and Child Health Coalition, the Loyola University | ||||||
23 | Medical Center, the Quad Cities Bicycle Club, the |
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1 | Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, SafeKids Illinois, the | ||||||
2 | Chicago Shriners Hospital for Children, the Macon County and | ||||||
3 | Winnebago County Shriners Hospitals for Children, the | ||||||
4 | Stakeholders Collaboration to Improve Student Health, Think | ||||||
5 | First National Injury Prevention (7 Illinois Chapters), and the | ||||||
6 | University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Educating children as to the benefit of wearing | ||||||
8 | bicycle helmets while cycling will contribute to their safety | ||||||
9 | and well-being; numerous agencies and associations, including | ||||||
10 | the office of the Illinois Secretary of State, the Illinois | ||||||
11 | Department of Public Health, local health and law enforcement | ||||||
12 | departments, schools, medical professionals, advocates for | ||||||
13 | children, cycling groups, and retail sellers of bicycles, could | ||||||
14 | provide a great service to Illinois children by expanding, | ||||||
15 | commencing, or collaborating on activities designed to convey | ||||||
16 | this message of great public value; therefore, be it
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17 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | ||||||
18 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Governor | ||||||
19 | and the Illinois Secretary of State to convene a task force or | ||||||
20 | working group, composed of representatives of the | ||||||
21 | aforementioned or like-minded groups, to explore, discuss, and | ||||||
22 | coordinate efforts to conduct a public awareness campaign to | ||||||
23 | educate the general public about the value of cycling to | ||||||
24 | children, along with the safety benefits of children wearing |
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1 | bicycle helmets; and be it further
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2 | RESOLVED, That we urge Illinois schools, under the | ||||||
3 | direction of the State Board of Education, to participate in | ||||||
4 | the development of activities and programs that would encourage | ||||||
5 | child bicycle riders to wear bicycle helmets; and be it further
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6 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
7 | delivered to Governor Pat Quinn and Secretary of State Jesse | ||||||
8 | White.
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