Full Text of HJR0054 94th General Assembly
HJ0054 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HJ0054 |
|
LRB094 12149 RAS 45543 r |
|
| 1 |
| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, According to a recent study by the Center for | 3 |
| Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, there are | 4 |
| 174,168 Illinois youth ages 16 to 24 years old and 98,908 youth | 5 |
| ages 16 to 21 years old who are high school dropouts; and
| 6 |
| WHEREAS, This study outlines that in Illinois, of the | 7 |
| 174,168 youth who are high school dropouts, 50,877 are White, | 8 |
| 74,645 are Hispanic, 42,294 are Black, and 6,352 are listed as | 9 |
| other; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, The vast majority of Chicago area and downstate | 11 |
| Illinois high school dropouts come from lower income areas; and | 12 |
| WHEREAS, Illinois employers are experiencing a shortage of | 13 |
| skilled workers, and high school dropouts could provide the | 14 |
| needed addition to the workforce needs of the Illinois economy | 15 |
| and Illinois businesses; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, Eighty percent of prison inmates are high school | 17 |
| dropouts and, as such, can pose a problem in terms of crime and | 18 |
| public safety to the general public in their communities and | 19 |
| neighborhoods; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, High school dropouts earn $516,000 less over their | 21 |
| lifetimes than people who have a high school diploma and some | 22 |
| college education; and | 23 |
| WHEREAS, The benefit to Illinois taxpayers is $340,000 over | 24 |
| the lifetime of a high school dropout who returns to school and | 25 |
| earns a high school diploma in terms of that person paying more | 26 |
| taxes on his or her increased earnings, as well as the reduced | 27 |
| social costs in terms of his or her utilizing welfare services, | 28 |
| mental health services, and other dependency services and being | 29 |
| less likely to enter prison or incur other related costs to |
|
|
|
HJ0054 |
- 2 - |
LRB094 12149 RAS 45543 r |
|
| 1 |
| crime; and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, There is significant research and program | 3 |
| experience to draw on and use to develop successful programs to | 4 |
| re-enroll, teach, and graduate dropouts from high schools; | 5 |
| therefore, be it
| 6 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 7 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 8 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Task Force | 9 |
| on Dropouts to examine and develop ways to address the issue of | 10 |
| youth who have dropped out of school; and be it further
| 11 |
| RESOLVED, That the purpose of the Task Force is to examine | 12 |
| policies, programs, and other issues related to developing a | 13 |
| variety of successful approaches using best program practices | 14 |
| to re-enroll, teach, and graduate high school dropouts and, in | 15 |
| doing so, improve community safety and the Illinois economy; | 16 |
| and be it further | 17 |
| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall be composed of the | 18 |
| following members: 4 legislators, one of whom shall be | 19 |
| appointed by the President of the Senate, one of whom shall be | 20 |
| appointed by the Speaker of the House, one of whom shall be | 21 |
| appointed by the House Minority Leader, and one of whom shall | 22 |
| be appointed by the Senate Minority Leader; one representative | 23 |
| of the State Board of Education appointed by the State | 24 |
| Superintendent of Education; one representative of the | 25 |
| Department of Human Services appointed by the Secretary of | 26 |
| Human Services; one representative of the Department of | 27 |
| Children and Family Services appointed by the Director of | 28 |
| Children and Family Services; one representative of the | 29 |
| Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity appointed by | 30 |
| the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; one | 31 |
| representative of the Illinois Community College Board | 32 |
| appointed by the Chairperson of the Illinois Community College |
|
|
|
HJ0054 |
- 3 - |
LRB094 12149 RAS 45543 r |
|
| 1 |
| Board; 2 representatives from the public appointed by the | 2 |
| Governor, with one of these public representatives serving as | 3 |
| chairperson of the Task Force; and 2 additional representatives | 4 |
| from the public, one of whom shall be appointed by State | 5 |
| Democratic Party leadership and one of whom shall be appointed | 6 |
| by State Republican Party leadership; and be it further | 7 |
| RESOLVED, That the duties of the Task Force shall include | 8 |
| conducting a series of public hearings throughout the State to | 9 |
| discuss the impact of high school dropouts on various regions | 10 |
| of the State, completing a review of dropout data that allows | 11 |
| for a comparison of Illinois rates both nationally and with | 12 |
| other states in the region, and producing a final report with | 13 |
| recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on | 14 |
| ways and means to address the challenge of re-enrolling | 15 |
| students who have dropped out of school; and be it further | 16 |
| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report its findings to | 17 |
| the Governor and the General Assembly no later than January 10, | 18 |
| 2006; and be it further | 19 |
| RESOLVED, That upon filing this report, the Task Force is | 20 |
| dissolved.
|
|