Full Text of SR1076 100th General Assembly
SR1076 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, In recent weeks more than 300 legislators, | 3 | | lobbyists, staffers, and policy-makers have signed an open | 4 | | letter acknowledging and condemning the culture of sexual | 5 | | harassment in Illinois politics and government; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The problem of sexual harassment extends far | 7 | | beyond government to limit women's professional and | 8 | | educational opportunities in virtually every arena, with | 9 | | recent reports of rampant sexual harassment in entertainment, | 10 | | the media, technology, academia, and more; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Sexual harassment imposes steep psychological, | 12 | | physical, and economic costs on victims, which have the effect | 13 | | of reducing women's economic opportunities and lifetime wages, | 14 | | driving women from the workplace, and discouraging women from | 15 | | public service; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Sexual harassment also imposes costs on the | 17 | | economy, businesses, and employers by causing decreased | 18 | | productivity, increased job turnover, reputational harm, and | 19 | | costly litigation; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Sexual harassment takes a toll not just on women | 21 | | but is also frequently directed toward men or can take the form |
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| 1 | | of harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity; | 2 | | and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Sexual harassment is too often combined with and | 4 | | exacerbated by harassment or discrimination based on race, | 5 | | ethnicity, religion, disability status, or age, and therefore | 6 | | requires an intersectional approach; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has | 8 | | found that roughly three out of four people who experience | 9 | | harassment never report it because those who do report | 10 | | encounter disbelief, inaction, blame, or social or | 11 | | professional retaliation; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, For too long Illinois has not provided victims of | 13 | | harassment with adequate recourse, allowing this culture of | 14 | | sexual harassment to go largely unchecked; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, The members of the General Assembly recognize it | 16 | | is critical that this conversation continue in a productive and | 17 | | meaningful manner and that appropriate changes be made to | 18 | | maximize legal remedies and protections for those victimized by | 19 | | sexual discrimination and harassment; therefore, be it | 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 21 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that there is hereby created |
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| 1 | | the Senate Task Force on Sexual Discrimination and Harassment | 2 | | Awareness and Prevention; and be it further
| 3 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall conduct a comprehensive | 4 | | review of the legal and social consequences of sexual | 5 | | discrimination and harassment, in both the public and private | 6 | | sectors; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall study and make | 8 | | recommendations on combating sexual discrimination and | 9 | | harassment in Illinois, including in workplaces, in | 10 | | educational institutions, and in State and local government; | 11 | | and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That within 10 days after the adoption of this | 13 | | resolution, members of the Task Force shall be appointed as | 14 | | follows:
| 15 | | (1) five legislative members appointed by the | 16 | | President of the Senate, who shall reflect the gender, | 17 | | racial, and ethnic diversity of the caucus appointing them;
| 18 | | (2) five legislative members appointed by the Minority | 19 | | Leader of the Senate, who shall reflect the gender, racial, | 20 | | and ethnic diversity of the caucus appointing them;
| 21 | | (3) two members from a Statewide association | 22 | | representing women or working to advance civil rights, | 23 | | appointed by the President of the Senate;
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| 1 | | (4) two members from a Statewide association | 2 | | representing women or working to advance civil rights, | 3 | | appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;
| 4 | | (5) five members appointed by the President of the | 5 | | Senate;
| 6 | | (6) five members appointed by the Minority Leader of | 7 | | the Senate; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That 2 co-chairpersons, representing different | 9 | | political parties, shall be selected by the members of the Task | 10 | | Force; and be it further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That meetings of the Task Force shall be held as | 12 | | necessary to complete the duties of the Task Force and that the | 13 | | Task Force shall hold its initial meeting no later than | 14 | | December 15, 2017; and be it further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall permit any interested | 16 | | member of the Senate or private citizen to participate in | 17 | | meetings and provide ideas, thoughts, and recommendations; and | 18 | | be it further
| 19 | | RESOLVED, that the Task Force shall work in conjunction | 20 | | with any task force created by the House of Representatives for | 21 | | a similar purpose, and that both entities shall aspire to | 22 | | produce legislation to address the concerns and issues |
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| 1 | | presented to the Task Force; and be it further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That the legislative caucuses shall provide | 3 | | administrative and other support to the Task Force; and be it | 4 | | further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That the members of the Task Force shall receive | 6 | | no compensation for serving; and be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall study and make | 8 | | recommendations regarding:
| 9 | | (1) best practices for preventing and responding to | 10 | | sexual discrimination and harassment;
| 11 | | (2) proposed legislation or rule-making that would | 12 | | improve the State's existing enforcement efforts to ensure | 13 | | that institutions effectively prevent and respond to | 14 | | sexual discrimination and harassment;
| 15 | | (3) increasing the transparency of the State's | 16 | | enforcement activities concerning sexual discrimination | 17 | | and harassment; | 18 | | (4) evaluating the existing ethical, civil, and | 19 | | criminal penalties for sexual discrimination and | 20 | | harassment and determining whether they are sufficient and | 21 | | what changes should be made;
| 22 | | (5) broadening public awareness of how to report sexual | 23 | | discrimination and harassment and the remedies available |
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| 1 | | to victims;
| 2 | | (6) facilitating coordination among agencies engaged | 3 | | in addressing sexual discrimination and harassment;
| 4 | | (7) any other issue related to reducing the incidence | 5 | | of sexual discrimination and harassment or harassment in | 6 | | other forms and protecting the rights of victims; and be it | 7 | | further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall submit a report with | 9 | | comprehensive recommendations to the General Assembly no later | 10 | | than December 31, 2018, provided that the Task Force is | 11 | | encouraged to produce interim reports.
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