Full Text of HJR0105 99th General Assembly
HJ0105 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a prison population of | 3 | | over 47,000 inmates in 25 adult facilities, with a staff of | 4 | | 10,200, at an annual cost of $1.3 billion; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The State's correctional system is among the most | 6 | | crowded in the nation and is operating at more than 150% of its | 7 | | capacity, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The State's high prison population and | 9 | | overcrowding is fueled by a high recidivism rate, with 48% of | 10 | | adults and 53% of juveniles returning to incarceration within 3 | 11 | | years; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Article I, Section 11 of the Illinois Constitution | 13 | | requires that the determination of the State's criminal | 14 | | penalties address both the seriousness of the crime as well as | 15 | | the return of the offender to productive citizenship; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The administration has set a goal for the State to | 17 | | reduce its prison population by 25% by 2025; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, The Governor's creation of the Illinois State | 19 | | Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform | 20 | | recognized the importance of a comprehensive and |
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| 1 | | evidence-based approach to reduce the State's prison | 2 | | population, while improving public safety; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Corrections currently | 4 | | maintains 7 Work Camps among its facilities as a transfer | 5 | | alternative for inmates preparing for re-entry into society; | 6 | | and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Work Camps provide adult education, high school | 8 | | equivalency classes, vocational educational programs, and | 9 | | community service opportunities to participants, as well as job | 10 | | skills and an experience that may improve an inmate's | 11 | | reintroduction to productive citizenship and may reduce the | 12 | | likelihood of a return to the correctional system; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Work Camps provide thousands of hours of service | 14 | | to the community; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, The determination of the effectiveness of job | 16 | | training, educational opportunities, and community service | 17 | | should be included in the State's evidence-based effort to | 18 | | reduce the recidivism rate, decrease the prison population, and | 19 | | increase public safety; therefore, be it
| 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 21 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE |
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| 1 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Task Force | 2 | | on Work Camp Rehabilitation, consisting of the following | 3 | | members:
| 4 | | (1) the Governor or his or her designee; | 5 | | (2) the Director of Corrections or his or her designee; | 6 | | (3) one member of the Illinois House of Representatives | 7 | | chosen by the Speaker of the Illinois House of | 8 | | Representatives; | 9 | | (4) one member of the Illinois House of Representatives | 10 | | chosen by the Minority Leader of the Illinois House of | 11 | | Representatives; | 12 | | (5) one member of the Illinois Senate chosen by the | 13 | | President of the Illinois Senate; | 14 | | (6) one member of the Illinois Senate chosen by the | 15 | | Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate; | 16 | | (7) the Chair of the Illinois Sentencing Policy | 17 | | Advisory Council or his or her designee; | 18 | | (8) one member of an association conducting | 19 | | independent oversight of the State's adult and juvenile | 20 | | correctional facilities chosen by the Governor; | 21 | | (9) the Director of the Administrative Office of the | 22 | | Illinois Courts or his or her designee; | 23 | | (10) one member of a not-for-profit foundation that | 24 | | uses evidence-based programs to assist clients with | 25 | | criminal records to achieve employment, successfully | 26 | | re-enter society, and reduce recidivism chosen by the |
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| 1 | | Governor; and | 2 | | (11) the Director of the Illinois Criminal Justice | 3 | | Information Authority or his or her designee; and be it | 4 | | further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That all appointments shall be made no later than | 6 | | 45 days following the adoption of this resolution; the Task | 7 | | Force shall hold its first meeting no later than 90 days | 8 | | following the adoption of this resolution and shall at that | 9 | | time elect a chair from among the members; and be it further | 10 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall study and determine the | 11 | | effectiveness of Work Camps; and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall conduct an | 13 | | evidence-based analysis of the State's current Work Camps and a | 14 | | comparative analysis between Work Camps and other forms of | 15 | | incarceration and rehabilitation; and be it further | 16 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall study and determine the | 17 | | extent to which the educational, job training, and community | 18 | | service options of Work Camps and other transitional programs | 19 | | would be beneficial to the State's effort to reduce recidivism, | 20 | | decrease the prison population, and improve public safety; and | 21 | | be it further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force may utilize evidence-based | 2 | | analysis of other rehabilitative services, including, but not | 3 | | limited to, mental health services, addiction recovery | 4 | | services, work-release programs, adult transition centers, | 5 | | Illinois correctional industries, vocational programs, and | 6 | | educational programs; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That the members of the Task Force shall serve | 8 | | without compensation; and be it further | 9 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Criminal Justice Information | 10 | | Authority shall provide administrative and other support to the | 11 | | Task Force; and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report its findings and | 13 | | any recommendations to the Governor, the General Assembly, and | 14 | | the Director of Corrections on or before December 31, 2016; and | 15 | | be it further | 16 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 17 | | delivered to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the Illinois | 18 | | House of Representatives, the President and Minority Leader of | 19 | | the Illinois Senate, the Governor, and the Director of | 20 | | Corrections.
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