HJ0109 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0109 LRB094 19951 RLC 57311 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Untreated drug offenders are the cause of crime in many of our communities and those communities across Illinois become "victims" as a result of State policy of incarcerating and not treating low-level non-violent offenders; and

WHEREAS, The answer for reducing crime is both to change public perception and legislative strategies so that low-level drug use is perceived and treated as a public and mental health issue and to require a prevention strategy; and

WHEREAS, Communities are alarmed at the high rate of drug offenders returning to Illinois communities without rehabilitation and stripped of employment, housing, and education prospects, creating volatile conditions in our neighborhoods; and

WHEREAS, These barriers to employment, housing, education, and other basic needs force many non-violent drug offenders into a cycle of escalating criminal activity; and

WHEREAS, The Developing Justice Coalition, a statewide alliance of dozens of community groups, and other community-level organizations are working together with legislators, the business community, bar associations, and academia to define and combat the critical public safety problems that are proliferated across the State by the cycle of untreated drug abuse, violence, incarceration, and barriers to prisoner reentry; and

WHEREAS, This cycle threatens the very foundation of our communities as more families are devastated by untreated drug addictions, while the process of incarceration and reentry has become commonplace and a major eroding factor in some Illinois communities; and

WHEREAS, Illinois spends millions of dollars each year incarcerating the same nonviolent drug offenders, many of whom cycle in and out of prison on an ongoing basis at great expense to the taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, Every year, the number of arrests for drug offenses is increasing, with over 70,000 people arrested for drug offenses in Illinois in 2004; and

WHEREAS, Every year, counties send a new record number of admission of non-violent drug offenders to Illinois State prisons; and

WHEREAS, In 2005 alone, more than 11,000 people were imprisoned in Illinois for low-level, nonviolent drug offenses at a cost of more than $249 million annually; and

WHEREAS, Illinois law currently contains provision for diversion away from prison toward more effective treatment, but the existing laws are either inadequate, improperly applied, or lack resources for implementation; and

WHEREAS, In FY 2005, a record number of nearly 40,000 people were released into Illinois communities with little or no resources, and tens of thousands of the ex-offenders returned to Illinois neighborhoods with untreated drug addictions; and

WHEREAS, In 2005, with the recidivism rate of 54.6%, most non-violent drug offenders will return to prison within three years; and

WHEREAS, Members of the Illinois General Assembly have come to understand that we cannot arrest ourselves out of this problem, nor can we cure addicted people by warehousing them; and

WHEREAS, The General Assembly wishes to examine the creation of a system of sanctions that utilizes diversion in appropriate cases and reduces the escalating cost of Corrections by eliminating mandatory sentencing and incarceration for low-level nonviolent drug offenses and provides the universal option of treatment, counseling, and community service instead and wishes to explore whether such a system will save valuable state funds, increase the public safety in our communities, reduce the state prison population, and help low-level nonviolent drug offenders learn to function as profitable members of our communities; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois General Assembly mandates that its members shall participate in a series of public hearings beginning in May, 2006, aimed at defining the depth of the problems associated with untreated drug addictions and to find ways to identify resources to support treatment, to identify policy changes that can improve diversion opportunities and outcomes, and to develop solutions that will address the public safety concerns of residents of Illinois communities; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a report on the findings and recommendations shall be delivered to the General Assembly during the 2006 Veto Session.