Full Text of HR0493 102nd General Assembly
HR0493 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Gang violence throughout the State of Illinois is | 3 | | a threat to the public safety and the well-being of its | 4 | | citizens; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus | 6 | | Prevention Act defines "gang" as any combination, | 7 | | confederation, alliance, network, conspiracy, understanding, | 8 | | or other similar conjoining, in law or in fact, of three or | 9 | | more persons with an established hierarchy that through its | 10 | | membership or through the agency of any member engages in a | 11 | | course or pattern of criminal activity and are not | 12 | | constitutionally protected; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a responsibility to | 14 | | ensure that every family is safe from harm's way, especially | 15 | | when our court system has extensive records of previous | 16 | | convictions, violations, and offenses from suspected gang | 17 | | members; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown | 19 | | attributes the recent data from the Federal Bureau of | 20 | | Investigation that shows homicides in Chicago increased 56% | 21 | | from 2019 to 2020 to gangs fighting over turf; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Gang activity extends beyond the City of Chicago, | 2 | | with several hundred gangs operating in Illinois, affecting | 3 | | the well-being and safety of citizens in the entire state; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, The federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt | 5 | | Organizations Act (RICO) allows for federal prosecution and | 6 | | civil penalties for racketeering activity performed as part of | 7 | | an ongoing criminal enterprise, including, but not limited to, | 8 | | kidnapping, bribery, murder, money laundering, and drug | 9 | | trafficking; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, In 2012, Illinois passed the Illinois Street Gang | 11 | | and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Law | 12 | | (Illinois RICO) to empower local and state officials to | 13 | | prosecute gang members and charge them as members of criminal | 14 | | organizations; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Gang activity often involves the racketeering | 16 | | activity that the federal RICO law and Illinois RICO are | 17 | | designed to combat; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, There is an urgent need to aggressively protect | 19 | | Illinois families from gang activity, their racketeering | 20 | | efforts, and the violence that their behavior breeds from | 21 | | Chicago to Cairo, from Rockford to Champaign, and from the | 22 | | Metro East to Bourbonnais; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, It is in the best interests of the citizens of | 2 | | Illinois to target and prosecute gang activity to the full | 3 | | extent of the law because gang activity increases violence and | 4 | | crime across the state; therefore, be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 6 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 7 | | we urge the Illinois State's Attorneys to prosecute gang | 8 | | activity under Illinois RICO across the entirety of Illinois.
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