Bill Text: IL SR1706 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the University of Illinois System to eliminate barriers to obtaining a post-secondary education by ceasing to inquire about prior conviction information or past high school disciplinary history on any admissions applications.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-01-09 - Session Sine Die [SR1706 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-SR1706-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Public higher education is a shared public good; | ||||||
3 | the University of Illinois System should serve everyone in | ||||||
4 | Illinois with equal access to education and the freedom that | ||||||
5 | comes from learning; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | ||||||
7 | (UIUC) is the flagship campus and was one of the original 37 | ||||||
8 | public land-grant institutions created under the Morill Act | ||||||
9 | with the goal of increasing access to higher education, then | ||||||
10 | widely unavailable to many agricultural and industrial | ||||||
11 | workers; and
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12 | WHEREAS, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), with its | ||||||
13 | urban mission is "focused on eliminating disparities in health, | ||||||
14 | education and economic opportunity" because "diversity is not | ||||||
15 | an end in itself, but a vehicle for advancing access, equity, | ||||||
16 | and inclusion" and considers itself one of the most ethnically | ||||||
17 | and culturally diverse campuses in the country; and
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18 | WHEREAS, The University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) is | ||||||
19 | a public affairs university resolved to pioneer leaders in | ||||||
20 | public education who will investigate the social, | ||||||
21 | technological, environmental, and moral questions of our times | ||||||
22 | by encouraging exposure to public affairs that extend beyond |
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1 | the classroom and campus and to the community; and
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2 | WHEREAS, 47% of adults in Illinois have a criminal record, | ||||||
3 | which creates barriers to housing, jobs, employment, and full | ||||||
4 | democratic participation; and
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5 | WHEREAS, All the factors that increase the likelihood of | ||||||
6 | involvement with the criminal legal system, such as being poor, | ||||||
7 | coming from neighborhoods with low educational spending and | ||||||
8 | high incarceration rates, or having low access to social | ||||||
9 | mobility or economic opportunity, only persist or worsen after | ||||||
10 | a conviction; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Many high schools in poor communities of color | ||||||
12 | disproportionately use suspension, expulsion, and | ||||||
13 | zero-tolerance policies, and therefore disciplinary actions | ||||||
14 | and arrests are much higher; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Poor people of color are disproportionately | ||||||
16 | arrested, convicted, and incarcerated, and African Americans | ||||||
17 | and Latinos together make up approximately 32% of the U.S. | ||||||
18 | population, but comprise 56% of all incarcerated people; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Asking university applicants about their high | ||||||
20 | school disciplinary records and adult conviction records has a | ||||||
21 | chilling effect, discouraging people from even applying to the |
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1 | University of Illinois, and all three campuses currently | ||||||
2 | request information about an applicant's criminal record and | ||||||
3 | high school records in the admission process, thus creating a | ||||||
4 | barrier to education; and
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5 | WHEREAS, The United States Department of Education has | ||||||
6 | given forceful guidance for colleges and universities to | ||||||
7 | eliminate collateral consequences of convictions and | ||||||
8 | encourages abolition of these questions from applications, so | ||||||
9 | that universities may mitigate, rather than exacerbate, the | ||||||
10 | damage of the criminal justice system to individuals and | ||||||
11 | communities; and
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12 | WHEREAS, By discouraging people from applying, the | ||||||
13 | University of Illinois system acts against the ideals of public | ||||||
14 | higher education, undermines its mission to make higher | ||||||
15 | education accessible to all, and impedes Illinois residents in | ||||||
16 | their efforts to lead positive and productive lives, thus | ||||||
17 | preventing people with unlimited potential from matriculating | ||||||
18 | and depriving current students of valuable colleagues and | ||||||
19 | peers; therefore, be it
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20 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | ||||||
21 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the University | ||||||
22 | of Illinois System to eliminate barriers to obtaining a | ||||||
23 | post-secondary education by ceasing to inquire about prior |
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1 | conviction information or past high school disciplinary | ||||||
2 | history on any admissions application; and be it further
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3 | RESOLVED, That the University of Illinois System is urged | ||||||
4 | not to consider any conviction or high school disciplinary | ||||||
5 | history information provided at any point during the admissions | ||||||
6 | process from any application using a third-party-vendor and | ||||||
7 | should further urge any such vendor not to disclose such | ||||||
8 | information to the University of Illinois; and be it further
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9 | RESOLVED, That in spite of the above statements, inquiries | ||||||
10 | or considerations of an applicant's criminal history are | ||||||
11 | permitted if required by federal law or in accordance with | ||||||
12 | Section 2605-327 of the Department of State Police Law of Civil | ||||||
13 | Administrative Code of Illinois or Section 10, 15, or 20 of the | ||||||
14 | Medical School Matriculant Criminal History Records Check Act; | ||||||
15 | and be it further
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16 | RESOLVED, That the University of Illinois is urged to only | ||||||
17 | inquire about criminal history information related to specific | ||||||
18 | convictions to follow existing laws and restrictions on aspects | ||||||
19 | of campus life such as housing and employment after the student | ||||||
20 | is admitted; and be it further
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21 | RESOLVED, The University of Illinois is urged to only | ||||||
22 | inquire about criminal history after an individual has been |
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1 | admitted, only to offer the individual supportive services, | ||||||
2 | academic, or career counseling, and institutional support; and | ||||||
3 | be it further
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4 | RESOLVED, That the University of Illinois is urged to | ||||||
5 | include information on all printed and online admissions | ||||||
6 | materials that informs prospective applicants that a | ||||||
7 | conviction record may affect an individual's ability to obtain | ||||||
8 | certain professional or occupational licenses, types of | ||||||
9 | employment, or to participate in certain clinical or other | ||||||
10 | educational requirements; and be it further
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11 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
12 | delivered to all members of the Illinois General Assembly, and | ||||||
13 | the Governor of the State of Illinois.
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