HR1499 LRB095 22293 KXB 52608 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, College presidents from more than 100
3 universities are calling on lawmakers across the nation to
4 lower the drinking age from 21 to 18, citing that current law
5 encourages excessive drinking on campuses; and
 
6     WHEREAS, The call to lower the drinking age is being used
7 to spark national debate about the drinking age; and
 
8     WHEREAS, According to Monitoring the Future, an
9 organization which conducts studies on drug and alcohol use by
10 young people, when the 21-year-old drinking age was effectively
11 mandated by Congress in 1984, 45.4% of college students engaged
12 in binge drinking; and
 
13     WHEREAS, By 2006, that figure was 40.2%, and the percentage
14 of students who reported drinking every day fell by more than a
15 quarter; and
 
16     WHEREAS, A study by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse
17 and Alcoholism (NIAAA) suggests that, since that time,
18 alcohol-related fatalities have dropped 56%; and
 
19     WHEREAS, The most dramatic decline in these deaths was
20 among children age 16-20, where crashes dropped by nearly 60% -

 

 

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1 from 5,224 in 1982 to 2,121 in 2006; and
 
2     WHEREAS, A recent study published in Accident Analysis and
3 Prevention finds that laws making it illegal for anyone under
4 the age of 21 to possess or purchase alcohol have led to an 11%
5 drop in alcohol-related fatal car crashes; and
 
6     WHEREAS, The study also purports that states with strong
7 laws against the use of fake IDs report 7% fewer drunk-driving
8 deaths among drivers under the age of 21; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Bradley University in Peoria has created a strict
10 Comprehensive Alcohol Action Plan that penalizes repeat
11 offenders and requires them to complete an online counseling
12 program; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Many colleges across the country are attempting to
14 come up with alternatives to dissuade students from
15 participating in alcohol-related activities; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Combating the cultural stigma of today's society
17 remains the greatest challenge in deterring our young people
18 from using alcohol; therefore, be it
 
19     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we

 

 

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1 urge that the legal drinking age in Illinois remain at 21 years
2 of age; and be it further
 
3     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
4 presented to the Illinois Board of Higher Education and all
5 public and private university presidents in Illinois.