HR0853 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0853 LRB101 21531 LAW 72335 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, In 1947, in the wake of World War II, Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed a comprehensive plan to rebuild the economies and spirits of Western Europe; and

WHEREAS, As part of this plan, the U.S. gave $13 billion in aid to 16 European nations; this included shipping food, staples, fuel, and machinery, rebuilding war-devastated regions, removing trade barriers, and investing in industrial capacity; and

WHEREAS, Due to what became known as the Marshall Plan, European economies experienced unprecedented growth from 1948 to 1952, postwar poverty and starvation disappeared, and standards of living increased remarkably; and

WHEREAS, Former National Urban League President John Jacobs often spoke of the need for a new domestic Marshall Plan, championing the idea that we could rebuild urban areas in America the same way we rebuilt entire nations abroad; and

WHEREAS, Parts of the City of Chicago, particularly on the west and south sides, suffer greatly from a lack of economic opportunity; and

WHEREAS, A lack of opportunity has been shown to increase drug abuse, unemployment, poverty, violence, and other negative factors within a community; and

WHEREAS, African Americans in the City of Chicago are disproportionately affected by both the violence and the poverty in the city; African Americans make up approximately a third of the city's population, yet for decades, they have consistently accounted for more than 70 percent of homicide victims; and

WHEREAS, A comprehensive economic recovery plan is necessary to revitalize Chicago's impoverished areas and to help elevate the city's African American population; and

WHEREAS, In the 1967, the Kerner Commission was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson to understand the root causes of race riots in African American communities in the 1960s and to make policy recommendations to prevent future unrest; and

WHEREAS, A new Marshall Plan will most likely need a commission or study comparable to the Kerner Commission to properly investigate the origins of the lack of economic opportunity in parts of Chicago and its affect on the city's black citizens and to make informed policy recommendations to improve these conditions; and

WHEREAS, Due to pre-existing inequalities such as segregation, financial disparities, lack of access to a good education, pre-existing conditions, lost wages, lost homes, lost inheritances, lack of access to testing and treatment, and other issues, the current COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately hurt African Americans, especially in Chicago; and

WHEREAS, The deadly toll of the COVID-19 virus on African Americans grows even starker as more data is released; as a clearer picture emerges, leaders are demanding a reckoning of the systemic policies that have made many African Americans far more vulnerable to the virus; therefore, any study or commission under a new Marshall Plan would need to include research on how societal inequality has resulted in Black Americans being more negatively affected by COVID-19; and

WHEREAS, This new Marshall Plan must provide federal, state, and local tax credits and other enhancements to encourage businesses to relocate to these struggling communities in order to foster economic vitality; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois General Assembly and the United States Congress to create and adopt a new, domestic Marshall Plan that studies the roots of the economic inequality in parts of Chicago and to promote economic growth and recovery in the city; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be sent to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, all members of the Chicago City Council, Governor JB Pritzker, all members of the Illinois General Assembly, President Donald Trump, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.