Bill Text: IL SR0643 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges President Obama and Congress to allocate $2 billion of the next economic stimulus plan to employ low-income youth.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5)

Status: (Passed) 2010-03-24 - Resolution Adopted [SR0643 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-SR0643-Introduced.html

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SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The United States economy is experiencing the
worst slow down in the past 30 years and is in a severe
recession; and
WHEREAS, At 26%, this year's summer teen (16 to 19 years
old) employment rate was the worst in post-World War II
history, with Black and Hispanic youth the hardest hit groups;
and
WHEREAS, In the summer of 2009, more than 2 million
low-income youth were out of work and on the streets; and
WHEREAS, In Illinois, in 2009, 72% of all teens, 87% of
Black teens, and 70% of Latino teens were jobless; and
WHEREAS, The jobless rate of teens in Illinois rose from
52% in 2000 to 72% in 2009; Black teen joblessness rose from
79% in 2000 to 88% in 2009; and Latino teen joblessness rose
from 60% to 70% during those years; and
WHEREAS, There is discussion in Congress of another
stimulus to help prevent a slump in the economy; and
WHEREAS, From 1964 until 2000 when it was ended, there was

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a separate summer youth employment program for over 750,000
low-income youth; and
WHEREAS, Teen employment has a variety of long-term
benefits for youth as well as the short-term improvement in
their earnings and income, and the more teens work when they
are 16 and 17, the more likely they are to work when they are 18
and 19 and then are more likely to work when they are 20 and 21;
teen employment raises earnings of youth when they are 25; and
WHEREAS, Teens who work are more likely to get trained by
their employers via formal apprenticeship training, and
low-income youth who work more in high school, especially
males, are less likely to drop out of high school, and female
teens who work more are less likely to get pregnant; and
WHEREAS, Last year, the United States Congress and
President Obama passed a $787 billion stimulus for the economy
with $1.2 billion for summer youth employment that employed
over 330,000 jobless youth across the country; and
WHEREAS, For this summer, there is a great need to continue
this program, but at this point there is no funding allocated;
and
WHEREAS, Senator Patty Murray from the state of Washington

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has proposed a $1.5 billion summer and year-round youth
employment program; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Illinois Senate
urges President Obama and Congress to allocate $2 billion of
the next proposed economic stimulus to create an employment
program throughout the year and with a particular emphasis on
the summer for 700,000 youth (13 to 21 years old), combining
education and productive work in their neighborhoods; teens
would earn money while they are producing meaningful work, and
they will spend this money immediately, providing a direct
economic stimulus to the United States economy; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to President Obama, the Majority Leader of the United
States Senate, and the Speaker of the United States House of
Representatives.