Bill Text: IL SR0277 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges solutions be sought in order to increase the employment rate of African American youth, and urges the business community to work to identify and assist young African American adults to find employment opportunities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-05-31 - Resolution Adopted [SR0277 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-SR0277-Introduced.html
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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, African American teens have the lowest
employment | ||||||
| 3 | rate compared to other ethnic and racial
groups; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
as of | ||||||
| 5 | July 2016, unemployment rates were as follows: Caucasians 9.9%, | ||||||
| 6 | African Americans 20.6%, Asians 10%, and Hispanics 11.3%; these | ||||||
| 7 | percentages showed
little or no change from the previous July; | ||||||
| 8 | and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, African American males ages 16 to 19,
particularly | ||||||
| 10 | those living in urban areas such as
Chicago, face the most | ||||||
| 11 | uncertainty in employment; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Disparities in employment outcomes for
young | ||||||
| 13 | African American men and women are longstanding;
these labor | ||||||
| 14 | market disparities have
many causes, including discrimination, | ||||||
| 15 | lower
access to high-quality education, and the
dearth of jobs | ||||||
| 16 | in neighborhoods with high
percentages of African American | ||||||
| 17 | residents; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Reports note that students who do not work
while | ||||||
| 19 | in school face greater chances of dropping
out of high school | ||||||
| 20 | as well as having increased
incidences of teenaged childbearing | ||||||
| 21 | and juvenile
delinquency and arrests; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, The same report also states that higher
rates of | ||||||
| 2 | youth unemployment lead to increased tax
burdens for other | ||||||
| 3 | workers as governments forego
income tax revenue, Social | ||||||
| 4 | Security, and Medicare
taxes and have to pay out more in | ||||||
| 5 | welfare and
unemployment insurance costs; it is estimated that | ||||||
| 6 | high youth unemployment costs various governments
$25 billion a | ||||||
| 7 | year; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, The investment to hire youth is lower than
hiring | ||||||
| 9 | seasoned individuals; companies have the
opportunity to train | ||||||
| 10 | eager newcomers who are
technologically savvy and possess | ||||||
| 11 | unique skill sets
that could benefit any company; therefore, be | ||||||
| 12 | it
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| 13 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 14 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge solutions be | ||||||
| 15 | sought in the form of investment
and economic development in | ||||||
| 16 | order to increase the
employment rate of African American | ||||||
| 17 | youth, and we urge the business community to work to identify | ||||||
| 18 | and
assist young African American adults
to find employment | ||||||
| 19 | opportunities.
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