Bill Text: IL SR0596 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges President Obama and Congress to pass the $5 billion Pathways Back to Work legislation as soon as possible to create an employment program throughout the year, with a particular emphasis on the creation of summer employment for 500,000 youth and adults, by combining education and productive work in their neighborhoods.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Passed) 2012-03-08 - Resolution Adopted [SR0596 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-SR0596-Introduced.html

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SR0596 LRB097 20177 GRL 65586 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The United States economy is experiencing the
worst recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s; and
WHEREAS, At 26%, 2011 was the worst summer teen (16 to 19)
employment rate in post-World War II history, with black and
Hispanic youth being the hardest-hit groups; and
WHEREAS, In the summer of 2011, more than 2 million
low-income youth were out of work and on the streets; and
WHEREAS, In 2011, 73% of all teens in Illinois were
jobless; and
WHEREAS, The jobless rate of teens in Illinois rose from
50% in 2000 to 72% in 2011; black teen joblessness rose from
79% in 2000 to 88% in 2011, while Latino teen joblessness rose
from 60% to 70%; and
WHEREAS, In Chicago, black teen joblessness was at 90% in
2010, Latino teen joblessness was at 81%, and white teen
joblessness was at 76%; and
WHEREAS, From 1964 until its end in 2000, a separate summer
youth employment program for over 750,000 low-income youth was

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in place; and
WHEREAS, Along with the short-term improvement in their
earnings and income, teen employment has a variety of long-term
benefits for youth; the more that teens work when they are 16
and 17, the more likely they are to work when they are 18 to 21
years old; teen employment also raises the average earnings of
youth when they are 25 years old; and
WHEREAS, Teens who work are more likely to get trained by
their employers via formal apprenticeship training; in
addition, low-income youth who work more while attending high
school, especially males, are less likely to drop out of high
schools, and female teens who work more are less likely to get
pregnant; and
WHEREAS, In 2009, the U.S. Congress and President Obama
passed a $787 billion stimulus for the economy, including $1.2
billion for summer youth employment that employed over 330,000
jobless youth across the country; and
WHEREAS, There is a great need to continue the summer youth
employment program during the summer of 2012, but there is no
funding allocated for the program at this point; and
WHEREAS, In Congress, United States Representative George

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Miller has introduced H.R. 3425 and United States Senator
Richard Blumenthal has introduced S. 1861, both of which are
known as the Pathways Back to Work Act of 2011; the Act would
allocate $5 billion for summer and year-round employment,
education, and training for disadvantaged youth and adults;
this funding would allow teens and adults to earn money while
they are producing meaningful work; these teens and adults
would spend this money immediately, providing a direct economic
stimulus to the U.S. economy; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge President
Barack Obama and Congress to pass the $5 billion Pathways Back
to Work legislation as soon as possible to create an employment
program throughout the year and with a particular emphasis on
the summer for 500,000 youth and adults, by combining education
and productive work in their neighborhoods; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
presented to President Barack Obama and the members of the
Illinois congressional delegation.