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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, In the State of Illinois, two thirds of gun | ||||||
3 | violence is related to suicide, and one
third is related to | ||||||
4 | homicide, claiming approximately 12,000
lives a year; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Violence has plagued communities, predominantly | ||||||
6 | poor and distressed communities in urban settings, which have | ||||||
7 | always treated violence as a criminal justice issue, instead of | ||||||
8 | a public health
issue; and
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9 | WHEREAS, On February 21, 2018, Pastor Anthony Williams was | ||||||
10 | informed that his son, Nehemiah
William, had been shot to | ||||||
11 | death; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Due to this disheartening event, Pastor Anthony | ||||||
13 | Williams reached out to state Rep.
Elizabeth "Lisa" Hernandez, | ||||||
14 | urging that the issue of violence be treated as a disease; and | ||||||
15 | WHEREAS, In 2018, elected officials from all levels of | ||||||
16 | government started a coalition to address violence as a | ||||||
17 | disease, with the assistance of faith-based organizations, | ||||||
18 | advocates, and community members and held a statewide listening | ||||||
19 | tour from August 2018 to April 2019; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, The listening tour consisted of stops on the South |
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1 | Side and West Side of Chicago,
in Maywood, Springfield, and | ||||||
2 | East St. Louis, with a future scheduled visit in Danville; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, During the statewide listening sessions, | ||||||
4 | community members actively discussed
neighborhood safety, | ||||||
5 | defining violence and how and why violence occurs in their | ||||||
6 | communities; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, The listening sessions provided different | ||||||
8 | solutions to address violence, however,
all sessions confirmed | ||||||
9 | a disconnect from the priorities of government and the needs of | ||||||
10 | these
communities; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois should create a process to | ||||||
12 | identify high violence communities, also known as R3 areas, and | ||||||
13 | prioritize state dollars to go to these communities to fund | ||||||
14 | programs as well as community and economic development projects | ||||||
15 | that would address the underlying causes of crime and violence; | ||||||
16 | and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, Due to a variety of reasons, including in | ||||||
18 | particular the State's budget impasse, funds were
unavailable | ||||||
19 | to establish such comprehensive policy; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, Policies like R3 (Restore, Reinvest, and Renew) | ||||||
21 | are needed in order to provide communities that have
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1 | historically suffered from divestment, poverty, and | ||||||
2 | incarceration with smart solutions that can
solve the plague of | ||||||
3 | violence; and
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4 | WHEREAS, It is clear that violence is a public health | ||||||
5 | problem that needs to treated as such,
a disease; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Research has shown that when violence is treated | ||||||
7 | in such a way, then its effects can be
slowed or even halted; | ||||||
8 | therefore, be it
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9 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
10 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
11 | we stand together with the victims of violence and their loved | ||||||
12 | ones who are being plagued by this disease in communities | ||||||
13 | across Illinois, and that we urge that violence be labeled and | ||||||
14 | treated as a public health crisis in order to effectively | ||||||
15 | address it; and be it further
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16 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
17 | delivered to Pastor Anthony W. Williams of
the First | ||||||
18 | Congregational Church of Berwyn.
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