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1 | AN ACT to establish the Marshall Plan for Moms Interagency | |||||||||||||||||||
2 | Task Force.
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3 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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4 | represented in the General Assembly:
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5 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | |||||||||||||||||||
6 | Marshall Plan for Moms Interagency Task Force Act. | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds the | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | following: | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | (1) Any relief and long-term recovery from the | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic must recognize | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | the disproportionate burden mothers have weathered. Women, | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | especially mothers, have faced the brunt of the economic | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | challenges of the pandemic due to social barriers and | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | policy failures that have been compounded by enduring | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | racism and gender injustices, including the lack of care | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | infrastructure, lack of family-supportive workplaces, and | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | gender and racial pay inequities. | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | (2) Women continue to face unjust gender and racial | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | wage gaps, and are overrepresented in low-wage jobs, | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | despite their gains in workforce participation. | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | Asian-American and Pacific Islander women, particularly | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander women, get paid as | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | little as $0.50 for every dollar a White man makes. Black |
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1 | women make only $0.63 for every dollar a White man makes, | ||||||
2 | and as a result may lose $946,000 in their lifetimes. | ||||||
3 | Latina women earn $0.55 for every dollar earned by a White | ||||||
4 | man, and as a result may lose over $1,100,000 in wages over | ||||||
5 | the course of a 40-year career. Native American women are | ||||||
6 | paid $0.60 for every dollar a White man makes and are | ||||||
7 | murdered at 10 times the rate of the national average, | ||||||
8 | even though financial independence and security can | ||||||
9 | increase chances of escaping violence for these women. | ||||||
10 | Women's wages are key to their families' economic security | ||||||
11 | and survival. Across the country, mothers are breadwinners | ||||||
12 | in almost half of families with children under 18, even | ||||||
13 | though mothers face a greater pay gap than women as a | ||||||
14 | whole. Even prior to the pandemic, working mothers faced | ||||||
15 | continued biases and stigmas in the workplace that | ||||||
16 | caregiving responsibilities will negatively impact their | ||||||
17 | work performance. | ||||||
18 | (3) Women have suffered the majority of | ||||||
19 | pandemic-related job losses. Since February 2020, women | ||||||
20 | have lost over 5,400,000 net jobs and account for 55% of | ||||||
21 | overall net job loss since the beginning of the crisis. | ||||||
22 | Women of color are experiencing higher rates of job loss | ||||||
23 | than White women. According to the Bureau of Labor | ||||||
24 | Statistics January 2021 unemployment data, the jobless | ||||||
25 | rate for Black women and Latina women aged 20 and over is | ||||||
26 | over 60% higher than their White counterparts. Asian |
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1 | Americans recorded the highest jobless rates among women | ||||||
2 | in the last 6 months of 2020, even though before the | ||||||
3 | pandemic their average unemployment rate was the lowest. | ||||||
4 | (4) Women face a disproportionate burden of caregiving | ||||||
5 | responsibilities. Mothers are 3 times more likely than | ||||||
6 | fathers to be responsible for most of the caregiving and | ||||||
7 | household work. Single mothers are more likely than other | ||||||
8 | parents to take care of all housework and childcare | ||||||
9 | responsibilities in their household, and are more likely | ||||||
10 | than other mothers to experience financial insecurity. | ||||||
11 | (5) Throughout the pandemic, women of color have | ||||||
12 | played integral roles on the front lines as essential | ||||||
13 | workers, including as nursing assistants, home health | ||||||
14 | aides, and child care educators. | ||||||
15 | (6) The unprecedented burdens of child care, work, and | ||||||
16 | remote learning have strained mental and emotional health | ||||||
17 | for mothers. These points of stress are compounded by | ||||||
18 | financial instability, racial injustice, being a single | ||||||
19 | parent, having children with special needs, and many other | ||||||
20 | factors. | ||||||
21 | Section 10. Task Force. | ||||||
22 | (a) The Marshall Plan for Moms Interagency Task Force is | ||||||
23 | established. The Task Force shall consist of the following | ||||||
24 | members or their designees: | ||||||
25 | (1) the Director of Labor, who shall serve as chair; |
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1 | (2) the Secretary of Human Services; | ||||||
2 | (3) the Chairman of the Illinois Workers' Compensation | ||||||
3 | Commission; | ||||||
4 | (4) the Director of Public Health; | ||||||
5 | (5) the Director of Human Rights; | ||||||
6 | (6) two members, who shall be appointed by the | ||||||
7 | Governor, one upon the recommendation of the Illinois | ||||||
8 | AFL-CIO and one upon the recommendation of the Illinois | ||||||
9 | Manufacturers' Association; | ||||||
10 | (7) one member, who shall be appointed by the Speaker | ||||||
11 | of the House of Representatives; and | ||||||
12 | (8) one member, who shall be appointed by the | ||||||
13 | President of the Senate. | ||||||
14 | (b) The Task Force shall meet as often as is necessary, but | ||||||
15 | no less than once per month and where otherwise appropriate to | ||||||
16 | fulfilling its duties under this Act. The members of the Task | ||||||
17 | Force shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled | ||||||
18 | to reimbursement for all necessary expenses incurred in the | ||||||
19 | performance of their duties. | ||||||
20 | (c) The Department of Labor shall provide staff and other | ||||||
21 | assistance to the Task Force. | ||||||
22 | Section 15. Policy areas; proposals and recommendations. | ||||||
23 | The Task Force shall examine the following policy areas and | ||||||
24 | issue proposals and recommendations thereon: | ||||||
25 | (1) The utilization of recurring payments or financial |
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1 | assistance to mothers and other caregivers and any | ||||||
2 | equivalent policies under all current State and federal | ||||||
3 | programs. | ||||||
4 | (2) The current utilization rates and impacts of | ||||||
5 | family leave programs as well as specific impacts of the | ||||||
6 | programs on mothers and other caregivers. | ||||||
7 | (3) Current State policy impacting the childcare | ||||||
8 | industry and the access or availability of child care in | ||||||
9 | all areas of the State. | ||||||
10 | (4) The availability and access to unemployment for | ||||||
11 | persons who have left a job or worked reduced hours in | ||||||
12 | order to take on caregiving responsibilities. | ||||||
13 | (5) The impact of any new policies imposed by the | ||||||
14 | federal government or by State or local officials during | ||||||
15 | the COVID-19 pandemic that have impacted mothers and other | ||||||
16 | caregivers in the workforce. | ||||||
17 | (6) The availability and access to mental health | ||||||
18 | support for mothers and other caregivers, and the impact | ||||||
19 | of access or availability to mental health support on such | ||||||
20 | families. | ||||||
21 | (7) The access and availability of all such programs | ||||||
22 | for immigrant families, and the impact of inaccessibility | ||||||
23 | or unavailability of any such programs on immigrant | ||||||
24 | families and the State. | ||||||
25 | (8) Any other areas the Task Force deems relevant in | ||||||
26 | the review of policies that may impact mothers and other |
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1 | caregivers. | ||||||
2 | Section 20. Hearings. Within one year after the effective | ||||||
3 | date of this Act, in carrying out its functions, the Task Force | ||||||
4 | shall hold 5 public hearings around the State to foster | ||||||
5 | discussions among, and conduct formal public hearings with | ||||||
6 | requisite public notice to solicit input and recommendations | ||||||
7 | from statewide and regional stakeholder interests. The Task | ||||||
8 | Force shall also accept public input in writing. The Task | ||||||
9 | Force may utilize remote access such as web conferencing in | ||||||
10 | order to comply with the provisions of this Section. | ||||||
11 | Section 25. Findings and recommendations. Within 2 years | ||||||
12 | after the effective date of this Act, the Task Force shall | ||||||
13 | report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and | ||||||
14 | the General Assembly and shall publicize its findings on a | ||||||
15 | website provided by the Department of Labor.
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16 | Section 30. Findings and recommendations. This Act is | ||||||
17 | repealed 3 years after the effective date of this Act. | ||||||
18 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
19 | becoming law.
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