Full Text of HJR0076 95th General Assembly
HJ0076eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HJ0076 Engrossed |
|
LRB095 12731 DRJ 38259 r |
|
| 1 |
| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 76
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, According to the 2005 American Community Survey, | 3 |
| over 12 million people lived in Illinois; and
| 4 |
| WHEREAS, Of the people living in Illinois, 72 percent are | 5 |
| White, 15 percent are African-American, 4 percent are Asian, | 6 |
| and 9 percent are of Other Races; and
| 7 |
| WHEREAS, Of the citizens in Illinois, 15 percent are of | 8 |
| Hispanic or Latino origin and 85 percent are not of Hispanic or | 9 |
| Latino origin; and
| 10 |
| WHEREAS, Seven percent of the population is under 5 years | 11 |
| of age, 19 percent is between 5 and 17 years of age, 58 percent | 12 |
| is between 18 and 64 years of age, and 16 percent of the | 13 |
| population is 65 years of age or older; and
| 14 |
| WHEREAS, There are 3,229,558 children under 18 years of age | 15 |
| living in households in Illinois; and
| 16 |
| WHEREAS, Of the children living in Illinois, 65 percent are | 17 |
| White, 18 percent are African-American, 4 percent are Asian, | 18 |
| and 13 percent are Other Races; and
| 19 |
| WHEREAS, Of the children in Illinois, 20 percent are of |
|
|
|
HJ0076 Engrossed |
- 2 - |
LRB095 12731 DRJ 38259 r |
|
| 1 |
| Hispanic or Latino origin and 80 percent are not Hispanic or | 2 |
| Latino; and
| 3 |
| WHEREAS, Eighty-eight percent of children live in the same | 4 |
| household as their parents, seven percent live with | 5 |
| grandparents, three percent live with other relatives, and two | 6 |
| percent live with unrelated foster parents; and
| 7 |
| WHEREAS, Of the 4,691,020 households in Illinois, 50 | 8 |
| percent are defined as married-couple family household, four | 9 |
| percent are defined as male householder - no wife present, 13 | 10 |
| percent are defined as female householder - no husband present, | 11 |
| and 33 percent are defined as non-family household; and
| 12 |
| WHEREAS, Eight percent of children who live in | 13 |
| married-couple family households received public assistance in | 14 |
| the past 12 months; 21 percent of children who live in male | 15 |
| householder - no wife present family households received public | 16 |
| assistance in the past 12 months; and 43% of children who live | 17 |
| in female householder - no husband present family household | 18 |
| received public assistance in the past 12 months; and
| 19 |
| WHEREAS, Of the low-income households in Illinois, 78 | 20 |
| percent experienced housing problems; and 23% of White | 21 |
| households experienced housing problems compared to 42 percent | 22 |
| of African-American households and 53 percent of Hispanic |
|
|
|
HJ0076 Engrossed |
- 3 - |
LRB095 12731 DRJ 38259 r |
|
| 1 |
| households; and
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, Examination of educational achievement for | 3 |
| Illinois residents 25 years and older reveals that 15 percent | 4 |
| have achieved less than a high school diploma, 28 percent | 5 |
| graduated from high school, 28 percent attended college or | 6 |
| received an associated degree, 18 percent received a bachelor's | 7 |
| degree, and 11 percent have attained a graduate degree or | 8 |
| higher or professional degree; and
| 9 |
| WHEREAS, Fifty-four percent of low-income households pay | 10 |
| more than 50 percent of their household income for housing; and
| 11 |
| WHEREAS, Over 44,000 adults are in prison, and 94 percent | 12 |
| are male and six percent are female; 60 percent are | 13 |
| African-American, 11 percent are Hispanic, and 28 percent are | 14 |
| White; and
| 15 |
| WHEREAS, Of the more than 1,400 juveniles in prison, 92 | 16 |
| percent are male and eight percent are female; and 54 percent | 17 |
| are African-American, 11 percent are Hispanic, and 34 percent | 18 |
| are White; and
| 19 |
| WHEREAS, Children reared by single parents are more likely | 20 |
| to drop out of high school, commit criminal acts, and become | 21 |
| homeless; and
|
|
|
|
HJ0076 Engrossed |
- 4 - |
LRB095 12731 DRJ 38259 r |
|
| 1 |
| WHEREAS, Since 2002, over 26,000 children per year are | 2 |
| indicated for abuse or neglect and are living with parents more | 3 |
| likely to be identified as the perpetrator; and
| 4 |
| WHEREAS, The socioeconomic status of the parents affects | 5 |
| the risk of children experiencing violent acts, growing up in | 6 |
| violent communities, and not having access to a quality | 7 |
| education or affordable and quality health care; and
| 8 |
| WHEREAS, Families are under stress and are increasingly | 9 |
| unable to protect or provide for their children; and
| 10 |
| WHEREAS, Family violence, including domestic violence, | 11 |
| negatively affects children's emotional and psychological | 12 |
| well-being; and
| 13 |
| WHEREAS, Families living below poverty and middle income | 14 |
| earners are more likely to become homeless as there is a severe | 15 |
| shortage of affordable housing; and
| 16 |
| WHEREAS, The family is the primary institution for caring | 17 |
| and providing for the emotional, physical, and social | 18 |
| well-being of children and assuring that they receive the moral | 19 |
| guidance and social skills to successfully reach their | 20 |
| potential and contribute as citizens; and
|
|
|
|
HJ0076 Engrossed |
- 5 - |
LRB095 12731 DRJ 38259 r |
|
| 1 |
| WHEREAS, Many children live in communities where food | 2 |
| deserts exist - they are unable to access healthy food; and
| 3 |
| WHEREAS, Children living in some urban communities are | 4 |
| frequently exposed to different levels of assorted toxic | 5 |
| chemicals both inside and outside the home; and
| 6 |
| WHEREAS, Low-income children and their parents are less | 7 |
| likely to have access to quality health care, less likely to | 8 |
| have incomes to secure safe and affordable housing, and less | 9 |
| likely to have community schools with certified teachers than | 10 |
| affluent families; and
| 11 |
| WHEREAS, There is a relationship between child well-being, | 12 |
| family well-being, and a community's social and economic | 13 |
| strength; and
| 14 |
| WHEREAS, Parents are primarily responsible for instilling | 15 |
| in their children moral, community, civic, and social | 16 |
| responsibility; and
| 17 |
| WHEREAS, Community institutions, agencies, and | 18 |
| organizations have a moral and social responsibility to assist | 19 |
| their members in achieving optimal well-being; therefore, be it
|
|
|
|
HJ0076 Engrossed |
- 6 - |
LRB095 12731 DRJ 38259 r |
|
| 1 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 3 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Parents and | 4 |
| Community Accountability Study Committee, hereafter referred | 5 |
| to as the Committee, consisting of 29 members appointed as | 6 |
| follows: | 7 |
| (1) Three members appointed by the President of the | 8 |
| Senate; | 9 |
| (2) Two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the | 10 |
| Senate; | 11 |
| (3) Three members appointed by the Speaker of the House | 12 |
| of Representatives; | 13 |
| (4) Two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the | 14 |
| House of Representatives; | 15 |
| (5) One member of the Governor's staff appointed by the | 16 |
| Governor; | 17 |
| (6) Two members appointed by the Chair of the Illinois | 18 |
| African-American Family Commission; | 19 |
| (7) Two members appointed by the Joint Chair of an | 20 |
| association that represents Illinois African American | 21 |
| legislators; | 22 |
| (8) One member appointed by the Chair of the Illinois | 23 |
| Prisoner Review Board; | 24 |
| (9) One member from each of the following State | 25 |
| agencies appointed by their respective heads: Department | 26 |
| of Children and Family Services, Department of Human |
|
|
|
HJ0076 Engrossed |
- 7 - |
LRB095 12731 DRJ 38259 r |
|
| 1 |
| Services, Department on Aging, Illinois State Board of | 2 |
| Education, Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of | 3 |
| Healthcare and Family Services, and Department of | 4 |
| Corrections; and | 5 |
| (10) Six public members representing the interests of | 6 |
| child welfare advocates, public health researchers, the | 7 |
| general public, the formerly incarcerated, faith-based | 8 |
| community, and court personnel - each appointed by the | 9 |
| Governor; and be it further
| 10 |
| RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services in | 11 |
| conjunction with the Department of Children and Family Services | 12 |
| shall provide staff and administrative support to the | 13 |
| Committee; and be it further
| 14 |
| RESOLVED, That the Committee shall examine issues related | 15 |
| to racial and socioeconomic disparities affecting the | 16 |
| pro-social development of children and youth; shall identify | 17 |
| ways to engage more parents in being accountable for the | 18 |
| actions of their children; and shall identify ways to engage | 19 |
| more communities in being accountable for investing in | 20 |
| pro-social development of children and families; the Committee | 21 |
| shall also research the types of supports needed to help | 22 |
| parents develop the necessary skills to ensure that their | 23 |
| children achieve positive youth development and to reduce | 24 |
| factors that lead to violence in the community, home, and |
|
|
|
HJ0076 Engrossed |
- 8 - |
LRB095 12731 DRJ 38259 r |
|
| 1 |
| school; the Committee shall also study what systems are needed | 2 |
| to assist communities to reinvest in and support children and | 3 |
| families; and be it further
| 4 |
| RESOLVED, That the Committee shall hold public hearings in | 5 |
| every Legislative District it deems necessary and present a | 6 |
| report of its findings and recommendations to the 96th General | 7 |
| Assembly before June 30, 2009.
|
|