HJ0123 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0123 LRB094 20300 RLC 58325 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, From 1990 to 2000, the number of African Americans admitted to Illinois prisons for drug offenses grew six fold from 1,421 to 9,088; in contrast, the number of Whites and Hispanics admitted to prison for drug offenses remained relatively stable; and

WHEREAS, In 2000, half of all African Americans admitted to Illinois prisons were sentenced for drug offenses, compared with 30% of Hispanics and 15% of Whites; and

WHEREAS, National studies found that Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics use illegal drugs at similar rates, and also that most users obtain drugs from people within their own racial or ethnic background; and

WHEREAS, Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York City based organization that investigates human rights violations around the world, reported that in 2000 that Illinois ranked first in the country with respect to Black White disparities in prison sentences for drug crimes and African American men in Illinois were 57 times more likely than White men in Illinois to be sentenced to prison for drug crimes; and

WHEREAS, This unexpected and disturbing finding prompted TASC and Loyola University Chicago to seek and obtain a research grant from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) for funding an investigation of the State's apparent problem with disproportionate sentencing practices; and

WHEREAS, In November, 2005, TASC and Loyola University issued the report, The Disproportionate Incarceration of African Americans for Drug Crimes: The Illinois Perspective, which confirmed the disproportionate application of this State's criminal drug laws, and cited Section 407 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (720 ILCS 570/407), as amended during the first half of the 1990s, to be a significant factor for the disparate impact which these laws have on African American communities; and

WHEREAS, Section 407 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (720 ILCS 570/407) prescribes a number of sentencing enhancements that result in mandatory prison terms for any possession or delivery of any controlled substance within a 1,000 foot boundary of schools or school bus stops; public housing properties or property leased by public housing agencies, such as scattered site public housing; hospitals; storefront churches and other places of worship; nursing homes and other facilities for the care of the elderly; and elevates to a felony, offenses that would be misdemeanors absent the 1,000 foot or safe zone enhancements; and

WHEREAS, The TASC and Loyola University researchers concluded that these restrictions are most common in poor, African American neighborhoods, which, per capita have more public housing units and storefront churches than any other communities in the city; and

WHEREAS, This statute which requires mandatory minimum prison terms, denies judges the discretion to determine the appropriate penalty on a case-by-case basis; and

WHEREAS, The Justice Policy Institute (JPI) recently issued a report, Disparity by Design: How Drug-free Zone Laws Impact Racial Disparity - and Fail to Protect Youth, which found that from the laws that heighten penalties for drug activity near schools, public housing and other designated locations fail to protect youth; and

WHEREAS, JPI found that drug-free zone laws erode the constitutional right to trial by forcing defendants to plead guilty or risk long prison terms; and

WHEREAS, JPI also found that communities of color are disproportionately impacted by drug-free school zone laws because densely populated urban neighborhoods, where people of color are more likely to live, are blanketed by prohibited zones, while rural and suburban neighborhoods are less affected; and

WHEREAS, JPI found that in New Jersey, three-quarters of Newark, and over half of Jersey City and Camden, fall within a zone compared to just 6% of rural Mansfield Township and the result of this "urban effect" is what New Jersey's sentencing commission terms "a devastatingly disproportionate impact on New Jersey's minority community"; and

WHEREAS, JPI found that in New Jersey, Blacks and Hispanics make up just a quarter of the State's resident population, while they comprise 96% of prisoners serving time for drug-free zone offenses; and

WHEREAS, JPI found that in Connecticut cities where the majority of residents are nonwhite have 10 times more zones per square mile than localities where less than 10% of residents are black or Hispanic; and

WHEREAS, JPI found that Blacks and Hispanics account for just 20% of Massachusetts residents but 80% of drug-free zone cases; and

WHEREAS, Utah's parole board recommended replacing the drug-free zone enhancement with an enhancement for only those convicted of selling or manufacturing drugs in the presence of children; and

WHEREAS, The New Jersey Sentencing Commission could find no deterrent effect of the drug-free zone law; and

WHEREAS, The New Jersey Sentencing Commission found that fewer than one in 10 arrests takes place just outside the zones, while the number of drug-free zone arrests has risen since the law was enacted, rather than falling - as would be expected if drug sellers had moved their activity to avoid prohibited zones; and

WHEREAS, The New Jersey Sentencing Commission concluded that the size of the zones erodes their deterrent effect and recommended that zones be narrowed from 1,000 to 200 feet; and

WHEREAS, The New Jersey Sentencing Commission concluded that reducing the size of prohibited zones will accomplish 2 objectives: more effectively deter drug activity that occurs within sight of schools and other protected locations; and lessen the impact of mandatory sentencing on urban communities, thereby reducing racial disparities; and

WHEREAS, The Connecticut legislature is considering a bill that would reduce the scope of the zones from 1,500 to 200 feet, and would require postings to mark the boundaries; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is hereby established a Legislative Task Force on Drug Free Zones ("the Task Force"); and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall have 8 members of the General Assembly, appointed 2 each by the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall conduct hearings and complete a comprehensive examination of the State's laws which were intended to create drug free zones to determine: (a) the effectiveness of the laws, (b) whether these laws have a disparate impact on African American communities, and (c) whether these laws should be amended to (i) more effectively deter drug activity that occurs within sight of schools and other protected locations; and (ii) lessen the impact of mandatory sentencing on urban communities, thereby reducing racial disparities; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly in a final report which shall be filed on or before April 1, 2007; the requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker, the Minority Leader, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader, and the Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit, as required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act, and filing additional copies with the State Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the report shall include, but need not be limited to, the following: (1) an assessment of the collateral consequences of the State's laws which were intended to create drug free zones; (2) an assessment of the effectiveness of these laws; (3) an assessment as to whether these laws have a disparate impact on African Americans; (4) an assessment as to whether these laws tend to erode the constitutional right to trial by forcing defendants to plead guilty or risk long prison terms; and (5) recommendations for legislative changes necessary to correct those problems (if any) identified by the Task Force.