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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Public Health has | ||||||
3 | determined that African American and Latinx at-risk | ||||||
4 | populations are
among the five demographics selected for | ||||||
5 | funding beginning early 2019 in support of Community
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6 | Development initiatives; it is imperative that the voices of | ||||||
7 | those most imminently affected by this
crucial health issue be | ||||||
8 | heard before any funding is considered; and
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9 | WHEREAS, The most recent and available statistics place HIV | ||||||
10 | disease as one of the top five leading causes of death in
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11 | African American women between the ages of 35 to 44 and the | ||||||
12 | seventh ranking cause in African American women
between the | ||||||
13 | ages of 20 to 34; and
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14 | WHEREAS, According to the Chicago Department of Public | ||||||
15 | Health, this city's African Americans are afflicted with
more | ||||||
16 | than half of the newly diagnosed HIV and AIDS cases; | ||||||
17 | non-Hispanic African Americans were the most
frequently | ||||||
18 | diagnosed population, representing 58.5% of new HIV diagnoses, | ||||||
19 | 56.4% of AIDS diagnoses, and 55.2%
of late diagnoses; and
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20 | WHEREAS, In 2016, the highest rates of new individual HIV | ||||||
21 | infection diagnoses occurred in the predominantly
African | ||||||
22 | American neighborhoods of Douglas, Grand Boulevard, Kenwood, |
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1 | North Lawndale, Washington Park, and
West Garfield Park; and | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, It is imperative that action be taken to halt new | ||||||
3 | HIV infections among these demonstrably at-risk
African | ||||||
4 | American men and women, which continue at an alarming rate that | ||||||
5 | exceeds 80% while new cases of
infections among the | ||||||
6 | corresponding at-risk Caucasian demographic have dramatically | ||||||
7 | decreased to a current rate of
less than 20%; and | ||||||
8 | WHEREAS, Hispanics/Latinos recently accounted for about | ||||||
9 | one quarter of all new diagnoses of HIV in the
United States, | ||||||
10 | despite representing about 18% of the total U.S. population; | ||||||
11 | and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, More than 20% of people living with HIV in the | ||||||
13 | City of Chicago identify as Latinx, with the
highest risk and | ||||||
14 | most marginalized subpopulations (injection drug users, sexual | ||||||
15 | and gender minorities,
etc.) exclusively depending on | ||||||
16 | indigenous-led and staffed organizations for services; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, Young men ages 20 to 29, especially Black and | ||||||
18 | Latino men who have sexual contact with
men, also continue to | ||||||
19 | make up the majority of new diagnoses, while transgender women, | ||||||
20 | particularly
those of color, also are disproportionately | ||||||
21 | affected; the City of Chicago stated that these populations, as | ||||||
22 | well
as Chicagoans in some southern, western, and northern |
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1 | community areas, continue to be "priority
populations" for HIV | ||||||
2 | prevention efforts; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, Gay and bisexual men accounted for 85% (7,271) of | ||||||
4 | the HIV diagnoses among Hispanic/Latino
men in 2015, with | ||||||
5 | indigenous-led organizations on the South and West sides of | ||||||
6 | Chicago leading efforts
for outreach and engagement with the | ||||||
7 | highest risk individuals; and
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8 | WHEREAS, According to reporting by the Chicago Department | ||||||
9 | of Public Health in 2016, gay, bisexual, and other men
who have | ||||||
10 | sex with men, particularly Latino men, bear a disproportionate | ||||||
11 | burden of HIV; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Significant gaps in knowledge exist concerning | ||||||
13 | HIV incidence and prevalence in the Latinx
community, | ||||||
14 | especially given the influx of evacuees into the city from | ||||||
15 | Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria; therefore, be it
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16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
17 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
18 | we call upon the Director of the Illinois Department of Public | ||||||
19 | Health to expeditiously participate in legislative public | ||||||
20 | hearings, as well as hearings within the communities so | ||||||
21 | affected, in order to provide expert and public testimony | ||||||
22 | concerning the amelioration of this disturbing and reversible |
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1 | public health threat; and be it further | ||||||
2 | RESOLVED, That we urge additional appropriations in State | ||||||
3 | funding, along with any available federal dollars, to provide | ||||||
4 | necessary preventative diagnostic and treatment services to | ||||||
5 | mitigate the harmful effects of HIV among at-risk African | ||||||
6 | American and Latinx populations; and be it further
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7 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
8 | delivered to the Director of the Illinois Department of Public | ||||||
9 | Health.
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