HR0493 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0493 LRB102 20622 MST 29493 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Gang violence throughout the State of Illinois is a threat to the public safety and the well-being of its citizens; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act defines "gang" as any combination, confederation, alliance, network, conspiracy, understanding, or other similar conjoining, in law or in fact, of three or more persons with an established hierarchy that through its membership or through the agency of any member engages in a course or pattern of criminal activity and are not constitutionally protected; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a responsibility to ensure that every family is safe from harm's way, especially when our court system has extensive records of previous convictions, violations, and offenses from suspected gang members; and

WHEREAS, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown attributes the recent data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation that shows homicides in Chicago increased 56% from 2019 to 2020 to gangs fighting over turf; and

WHEREAS, Gang activity extends beyond the City of Chicago, with several hundred gangs operating in Illinois, affecting the well-being and safety of citizens in the entire state; and

WHEREAS, The federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) allows for federal prosecution and civil penalties for racketeering activity performed as part of an ongoing criminal enterprise, including, but not limited to, kidnapping, bribery, murder, money laundering, and drug trafficking; and

WHEREAS, In 2012, Illinois passed the Illinois Street Gang and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Law (Illinois RICO) to empower local and state officials to prosecute gang members and charge them as members of criminal organizations; and

WHEREAS, Gang activity often involves the racketeering activity that the federal RICO law and Illinois RICO are designed to combat; and

WHEREAS, There is an urgent need to aggressively protect Illinois families from gang activity, their racketeering efforts, and the violence that their behavior breeds from Chicago to Cairo, from Rockford to Champaign, and from the Metro East to Bourbonnais; and

WHEREAS, It is in the best interests of the citizens of Illinois to target and prosecute gang activity to the full extent of the law because gang activity increases violence and crime across the state; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois State's Attorneys to prosecute gang activity under Illinois RICO across the entirety of Illinois.