HR0609 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The people of Illinois are suffering from an ongoing economic crisis that threatens their health, wealth, and security; and

WHEREAS, Occupy movements in Illinois are supported by people of all trades and occupations, from school teachers to military veterans, who are stirred to protest economic injustice by the examples of the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City and the numerous other Occupy protests across the country; and

WHEREAS, In Illinois, the unemployment rate is 10% (numbering more than 660,000 people), the poverty rate is more than 14% (1.8 million people), and the rate of people living in extreme poverty (income less than $11,000 for a family of four) is nearly 7% (680,000 people); and

WHEREAS, The average after-tax household income of the top 1% of the United States population grew by 275% between 1979 and 2007, and the average after-tax household income of the lowest 20% of the United States population grew by just 18% in that same period; and

WHEREAS, The top 1% of income earners control 40% of the wealth in the United States (a disparity greater than in Marie Antoinette's France before the Revolution of 1789); and

WHEREAS, The foreclosure rate in Illinois last month was the ninth worst in the country (1 of every 463 units), the rate in Cook County was even worse (1 of 357 units), and nearly 45% of the mortgage loans on Chicago homes are "underwater", that is, the amount of the home mortgage loan exceeds the value of the home; and

WHEREAS, The cost of the foreclosure crisis to Illinois taxpayers in 2012 is expected to reach $12 billion, blighting whole communities with decreased police and fire protection, higher crime rates, less access to health care, poorer schools, deteriorated infrastructure, diminished recreation services, reduced library services, and park closures or reduced park hours; and

WHEREAS, People of all ages (from young adults to seniors) and backgrounds, individuals from all Chicago neighborhoods (north, south, and west), and persons who live in the suburbs, downstate cities, and rural areas are lawfully protesting the failures of Wall Street, the subsequent economic crisis, and the failure to address the needs of 99% of the population; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the injuries suffered by the people of Illinois as a result of these economic injustices and we stand in support of the continued peaceful exercise of First Amendment rights by Occupy protestors.