Full Text of SJR0065 95th General Assembly
SJ0065 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois economy is transforming; despite | 3 |
| having the nation's fifth largest state economy, the State | 4 |
| ranked only 35th in economic growth over the last 15 years; and
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| WHEREAS, Illinois' economic growth is lagging because we | 6 |
| are losing good jobs; between 1990 and 2005, the number of | 7 |
| manufacturing jobs in Illinois declined by 24.3%, or 222,500; | 8 |
| during this same period, 34% of job growth occurred in | 9 |
| education, health services, and hospitality, sectors that | 10 |
| currently pay, on average, 29% less than manufacturing jobs; | 11 |
| adjusted for inflation, median wages have declined leaving | 12 |
| families with the same income they had in 1989; nearly 685,000 | 13 |
| working Illinoisans earn less than the living wage for a single | 14 |
| adult - $17,950 annually; and
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| WHEREAS, 40% of new job growth will be in mid- to high-wage | 16 |
| sectors; manufacturers will continue to be a major employer, | 17 |
| but most of these jobs will require increasingly sophisticated | 18 |
| levels of skill; in fact, over 35% of Illinois' new jobs will | 19 |
| require an associate degree or higher and 71% of the highest | 20 |
| wage jobs will require a post-secondary degree; and
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| WHEREAS, To attract high wage jobs, Illinois will need | 22 |
| high-skilled workers; but, at the same time that our economy |
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| demands skilled workers in order to remain competitive and | 2 |
| thrive, federal funds for workforce development continue to | 3 |
| shrink, after adjusting for inflation; and
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| WHEREAS, It is time for Illinois to make a new commitment; | 5 |
| about 594,000 twenty-five to fifty-four year olds have no high | 6 |
| school diploma or equivalent; 60% of these working age | 7 |
| individuals are without an associate degree or higher; just 35% | 8 |
| of Illinois' young adults are enrolled in postsecondary | 9 |
| education; over the next 15 years, 33% of the State's labor | 10 |
| force will retire and the fastest growing segments of our | 11 |
| population who must replace them have generally lower education | 12 |
| levels; and
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| WHEREAS, Strong workforce development is a key driver of | 14 |
| long-term business retention and growth; additionally, | 15 |
| Illinois must use its economic development policies | 16 |
| strategically targeting disadvantage areas to foster high-wage | 17 |
| job creation and to leverage infrastructure investments; these | 18 |
| are the tools that can ensure Illinois' families, businesses, | 19 |
| and communities enjoy a prosperous future; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 21 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 22 |
| CONCURRING HEREIN, that, to compete successfully in a global | 23 |
| economy and end poverty, Illinois needs an integrated economic |
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| and workforce development policy that works for everyone and | 2 |
| that includes producing skilled workers in strong businesses | 3 |
| with good jobs that foster thriving communities; and be it | 4 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That this new policy must provide lasting value | 6 |
| to Illinois' 10 economic regions and offer sustainable | 7 |
| programming in urbanized and rural communities throughout the | 8 |
| State that allows for the flexibility necessary to address | 9 |
| regional differences in the economy, business climate and the | 10 |
| workforce; and be it further | 11 |
| RESOLVED, That the General Assembly create, upon adoption | 12 |
| of this resolution, a bipartisan task force, whose work shall | 13 |
| endeavor to fulfill the following goals: | 14 |
| (1) Ensure Illinoisans develop the skills businesses | 15 |
| demand in a modern economy; | 16 |
| (2) Create career paths and job opportunities for all | 17 |
| working-age Illinoisans, from the least skilled and most | 18 |
| disadvantaged to middle income workers whose skills have | 19 |
| become obsolete; | 20 |
| (3) Invest resources in the capital and human | 21 |
| infrastructure needed to attract and retain "high road" | 22 |
| employers that provide quality jobs, wages, and benefits; | 23 |
| (4) Encourage entrepreneurship, small business growth, | 24 |
| technology transfers from Illinois' higher education |
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| system, and other economic/workforce development | 2 |
| innovation in all communities across Illinois to grow | 3 |
| competitive State businesses; and | 4 |
| (5) Support economic and workforce development that is | 5 |
| environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable; | 6 |
| and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That this task force shall conduct a thorough | 8 |
| discovery process that will include identification of | 9 |
| effective policies and programs; conduct public hearings; | 10 |
| invite expert testimony and shall furnish a report of its | 11 |
| findings whereupon clear and concise information of programs | 12 |
| and policies will be made available to the public throughout | 13 |
| Illinois; new legislation or policy changes developed during | 14 |
| the course of the deliberations of the task force shall be | 15 |
| introduced at the earliest possible moment; hearings shall be | 16 |
| held within 6 months of the first meeting of the task force and | 17 |
| the report shall be issued within 12 months of the meeting and | 18 |
| not later than September 30, 2008 to the Governor and the | 19 |
| General Assembly; and be it further | 20 |
| RESOLVED, That the requirement for the reporting to the | 21 |
| General Assembly shall be satisfied by filing copies of the | 22 |
| report with the Speaker, the Minority Leader, and the Clerk of | 23 |
| the House of Representatives, and the President, the Minority | 24 |
| Leader, and the Secretary of the Senate, and the Legislative |
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| Research Unit, as required by Section 3.1 of the General | 2 |
| Assembly Organization Act, and filing additional copies with | 3 |
| the State Government Report Distribution Center for the General | 4 |
| Assembly as required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the | 5 |
| State Library Act; and be it further | 6 |
| RESOLVED, That the task force shall have the following | 7 |
| members: 16 voting members, as follows: 4 members of the Senate | 8 |
| appointed by the President of the Senate, 4 members of the | 9 |
| Senate appointed by the Senate Minority Leader, 4 members of | 10 |
| the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the | 11 |
| House of Representatives, and 4 members of the House of | 12 |
| Representatives appointed by the House Minority Leader; and be | 13 |
| it further | 14 |
| RESOLVED, That all actions of the task force require the | 15 |
| affirmative vote of at least 9 voting members; and be it | 16 |
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| RESOLVED, That the following persons shall serve without | 18 |
| compensation as ex-officio, non-voting members of the task | 19 |
| force:
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| (A) the Director of the Department of Commerce and | 21 |
| Economic Opportunity, or his or her designee;
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| (B) the Director of the Department of Employment | 23 |
| Security, or his or her designee; |
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| (C) the Secretary of the Department of Human Services, | 2 |
| or his or her designee;
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| (D) the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, | 4 |
| or his or her designee;
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| (E) the Secretary of the Department of Labor, or his or | 6 |
| her designee;
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| (F) the Director of the Environmental Protection | 8 |
| Agency, or his or her designee;
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| (G) the Director of the Illinois Community College | 10 |
| Board, or his or her designee; and
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| (H) the Director of the Department of Corrections; and | 12 |
| be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the departments of State government and the | 14 |
| Illinois Community College Board shall work cooperatively to | 15 |
| provide administrative support for the task force, and the | 16 |
| Departments of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and | 17 |
| Employment Security shall be the primary agencies in providing | 18 |
| that support.
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