SR0643 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0643 LRB096 21016 JAM 36864 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The United States economy is experiencing the worst slow down in the past 30 years and is in a severe recession; and

WHEREAS, At 26%, this year's summer teen (16 to 19 years old) employment rate was the worst in post-World War II history, with Black and Hispanic youth the hardest hit groups; and

WHEREAS, In the summer of 2009, more than 2 million low-income youth were out of work and on the streets; and

WHEREAS, In Illinois, in 2009, 72% of all teens, 87% of Black teens, and 70% of Latino teens were jobless; and

WHEREAS, The jobless rate of teens in Illinois rose from 52% in 2000 to 72% in 2009; Black teen joblessness rose from 79% in 2000 to 88% in 2009; and Latino teen joblessness rose from 60% to 70% during those years; and

WHEREAS, There is discussion in Congress of another stimulus to help prevent a slump in the economy; and

WHEREAS, From 1964 until 2000 when it was ended, there was a separate summer youth employment program for over 750,000 low-income youth; and

WHEREAS, Teen employment has a variety of long-term benefits for youth as well as the short-term improvement in their earnings and income, and the more teens work when they are 16 and 17, the more likely they are to work when they are 18 and 19 and then are more likely to work when they are 20 and 21; teen employment raises earnings of youth when they are 25; and

WHEREAS, Teens who work are more likely to get trained by their employers via formal apprenticeship training, and low-income youth who work more in high school, especially males, are less likely to drop out of high school, and female teens who work more are less likely to get pregnant; and

WHEREAS, Last year, the United States Congress and President Obama passed a $787 billion stimulus for the economy with $1.2 billion for summer youth employment that employed over 330,000 jobless youth across the country; and

WHEREAS, For this summer, there is a great need to continue this program, but at this point there is no funding allocated; and

WHEREAS, Senator Patty Murray from the state of Washington has proposed a $1.5 billion summer and year-round youth employment program; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Illinois Senate urges President Obama and Congress to allocate $2 billion of the next proposed economic stimulus to create an employment program throughout the year and with a particular emphasis on the summer for 700,000 youth (13 to 21 years old), combining education and productive work in their neighborhoods; teens would earn money while they are producing meaningful work, and they will spend this money immediately, providing a direct economic stimulus to the United States economy; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to President Obama, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, and the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.