HJ0128 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0128 LRB101 22383 ECR 73448 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The American Medical Association states that racism contributes to health inequities in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Social determinants of health, meaning the social and material factors that influence health outcomes, have a lifelong impact beginning even before birth; and

WHEREAS, The American Public Health Association (APHA) has expressed that racism is a driving force of the social determinants of health due to the resulting inequalities in a number of matters, including housing, education, and employment; and

WHEREAS, The APHA clarifies that racism is a social system with multiple dimensions; individual racism is internalized or interpersonal, while systemic racism is institutional or structural and is a system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on the social interpretation of how one looks; this system unfairly disadvantages specific individuals and communities while unfairly giving advantages to other individuals and communities and saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources; and

WHEREAS, Almost all of the four hundred years of Black Americans' experience was under slavery and Jim Crow laws that subjected Black people to hardship and disadvantage in all areas of life; and

WHEREAS, The Heartland Alliance Social IMPACT Research Center's 2018 Poverty Report explains that poverty and violence disproportionately impact minority communities, which are characterized by lack of adequate public services, lack of educational opportunities, poorer health outcomes, asset and income inequality, and more; the underlying cause of all mentioned above is rooted in historic and current systemic racism, such as redlining, discrimination in schools, and other practices; and

WHEREAS, The American Anthropological Association asserts that genetic analyses show race to be a social construct not rooted in meaningful biological difference; and

WHEREAS, There is clear data that racism negatively impacts the lives of people of color in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The American Psychological Association says that, because of poverty and discrimination, racial minority children are more likely to experience traumatic events than White children; childhood trauma has negative impacts on academic, behavioral, and physical health outcomes; and

WHEREAS, Statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control show a national disparity between Black and White infant mortality rates with the State of Illinois having one of the highest disparities between Black and White infant mortality rates; and

WHEREAS, 2018 data collected by the Illinois Department of Public Health reveals that non-Hispanic Black women are six times as likely to die of a pregnancy-related condition when compared to a non-Hispanic White woman; Black women had the highest rate of severe maternal morbidity in Illinois from 2016 to 2017 with a rate of 101.5 per 10,000 deliveries; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice reported that seventy-one percent of youth in youth correctional facilities were Black despite Black youth representing only three percent of the people in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The September 2020 Poverty, Income & Health Insurance Update by the Heartland Alliance shows that the poverty rate for Black Illinoisans is three times the poverty rate of White Illinoisans, and the median income for Black households is only fifty-eight per cent of the statewide median; and

WHEREAS, Illinois Department of Public Health data indicates that Black Illinoisans have higher mortality rates in heart disease, cancer, and opioid overdose and higher incidence of diabetes compared to White Illinoisans; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Public Health stated that although health indicators such as life expectancy and infant mortality have improved for most Americans, minorities still experience shorter life expectancy and higher rates of disability compared with non-minorities; and

WHEREAS, The APHA has identified law enforcement violence as a public health issue that disproportionately affects marginalized groups, including people of color, impacting both physical and mental health outcomes; and

WHEREAS, The impact of racism on public health deserves action from all levels of government; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we declare racism to be a public health crisis affecting our entire State; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we ask the Governor to establish a working group to promote racial equity throughout this State; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we support the establishment of a working group to address these issues and to:

(1) Create a publicly accessible glossary of terms and definitions concerning racism and health equity;

(2) Promote community engagement and provide tools for government agencies to engage actively and authentically with communities of color;

(3) Continue to work to build alliances with organizations that have a legacy and track record of confronting racism;

(4) Encourage community partners and stakeholders in the education, employment, housing, and criminal justice and safety arenas to recognize racism as a public health crisis and take appropriate action;

(5) Continue to promote racially equitable economic and workforce development in Illinois;

(6) Continue to promote racially equitable hiring and promotion of all employees, including State employees;

(7) Provide training to all elected officials, staff, funders, and grantees on workplace biases and how to mitigate them;

(8) Promote and encourage all policies that prioritize the health of people of color;

(9) Support local, state, regional, and federal initiatives that advance efforts to dismantle systematic racism and mitigate exposure to adverse childhood experiences and trauma;

(10) Incorporate educational efforts to address and dismantle racism and to expand understanding of racism and how racism affects individual and population health; and

(11) Secure adequate resources to successfully accomplish the aforementioned activities; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we are committed to reviewing all portions of Illinois state law with a racial equity lens; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we are committed to conducting all human resource, vendor selection, and grant management activities with a racial equity lens, including reviewing all internal policies and practices such as hiring, promotion, leadership appointments, and funding; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Governor's Office and to all members of the General Assembly.