HR1210 LRB094 20237 HSS 58141 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The adult female prison population in the State of
3 Illinois more than quadrupled over the past 20 years to 2,725
4 at the end of 2005; and
 
5     WHEREAS, The rate of growth of the women's prison
6 population in Illinois has been twice that of men's since 1994;
7 and
 
8     WHEREAS, Of this population, less than 30% of these women
9 were incarcerated for committing violent crimes; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Cook County Jail currently houses about 1,300
11 women on any given day and, of this population, approximately
12 90% are charged with non-violent crimes; and
 
13     WHEREAS, In prisons in the State of Illinois, 82% of women
14 are mothers and almost 50% have children under five years of
15 age; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Each year at least 25,000 children in the State of
17 Illinois are impacted by maternal incarceration; and
 
18     WHEREAS, In the State of Illinois, at least 60,000 minor
19 children will have their mothers spend time in a State prison
20 while they are children; and
 
21     WHEREAS, An estimated 80% of all incarcerated women in the
22 State of Illinois suffer from substance abuse problems;
23 however, the State of Illinois can place fewer than 20% of all
24 incarcerated women into its substance abuse programs; and
 
25     WHEREAS, It is a known fact that drug addiction causes
26 crime, destroys the family structure, creates havoc in
27 neighborhoods, and leaves paths of destruction in its wake;

 

 

HR1210 - 2 - LRB094 20237 HSS 58141 r

1 individuals convicted of crimes who have not received
2 meaningful treatment while incarcerated continue to commit
3 offenses; and
 
4     WHEREAS, In the United States by the end of 2004, women
5 were 9.4% percent of all prison and jail inmates, up from 6.1%
6 in 1995; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Community-based alternatives to incarceration for
8 women convicted of non-violent offenses would allow children to
9 stay with their mothers while their mothers receive appropriate
10 treatment; with the appropriate treatment, the mothers would be
11 less likely to commit additional offenses and would be able to
12 re-enter society as tax-paying citizens; in addition, their
13 children would be less likely to become the next generation of
14 incarcerated individuals; therefore, be it
 
15     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
16 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
17 we recognize May 12, 2006, as Mothers in Prison, Children in
18 Crisis Day in the State of Illinois; and be it further
 
19     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20 presented to Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers
21 (CLAIM).