Full Text of HJR0109 94th General Assembly
HJ0109 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HJ0109 |
|
LRB094 19951 RLC 57311 r |
|
| 1 |
| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, Untreated drug offenders are the cause of crime in | 3 |
| many of our communities and those communities across Illinois | 4 |
| become "victims" as a result of State policy of incarcerating | 5 |
| and not treating low-level non-violent offenders; and
| 6 |
| WHEREAS, The answer for reducing crime is both to change | 7 |
| public perception and legislative strategies so that low-level | 8 |
| drug use is perceived and treated as a public and mental health | 9 |
| issue and to require a prevention strategy; and
| 10 |
| WHEREAS, Communities are alarmed at the high rate of drug | 11 |
| offenders returning to Illinois communities without | 12 |
| rehabilitation and stripped of employment, housing, and | 13 |
| education prospects, creating volatile conditions in our | 14 |
| neighborhoods; and
| 15 |
| WHEREAS, These barriers to employment, housing, education, | 16 |
| and other basic needs force many non-violent drug offenders | 17 |
| into a cycle of escalating criminal activity; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, The Developing Justice Coalition, a statewide | 19 |
| alliance of dozens of community groups, and other | 20 |
| community-level organizations are working together with | 21 |
| legislators, the business community, bar associations, and | 22 |
| academia to define and combat the critical public safety | 23 |
| problems that are proliferated across the State by the cycle of | 24 |
| untreated drug abuse, violence, incarceration, and barriers to | 25 |
| prisoner reentry; and
| 26 |
| WHEREAS, This cycle threatens the very foundation of our | 27 |
| communities as more families are devastated by untreated drug | 28 |
| addictions, while the process of incarceration and reentry has | 29 |
| become commonplace and a major eroding factor in some Illinois | 30 |
| communities; and
|
|
|
|
HJ0109 |
- 2 - |
LRB094 19951 RLC 57311 r |
|
| 1 |
| WHEREAS, Illinois spends millions of dollars each year | 2 |
| incarcerating the same nonviolent drug offenders, many of whom | 3 |
| cycle in and out of prison on an ongoing basis at great expense | 4 |
| to the taxpayers; and
| 5 |
| WHEREAS, Every year, the number of arrests for drug | 6 |
| offenses is increasing, with over 70,000 people arrested for | 7 |
| drug offenses in Illinois in 2004; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, Every year, counties send a new record number of | 9 |
| admission of non-violent drug offenders to Illinois State | 10 |
| prisons; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, In 2005 alone, more than 11,000 people were | 12 |
| imprisoned in Illinois for low-level, nonviolent drug offenses | 13 |
| at a cost of more than $249 million annually; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, Illinois law currently contains provision for | 15 |
| diversion away from prison toward more effective treatment, but | 16 |
| the existing laws are either inadequate, improperly applied, or | 17 |
| lack resources for implementation; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, In FY 2005, a record number of nearly 40,000 | 19 |
| people were released into Illinois communities with little or | 20 |
| no resources, and tens of thousands of the ex-offenders | 21 |
| returned to Illinois neighborhoods with untreated drug | 22 |
| addictions; and | 23 |
| WHEREAS, In 2005, with the recidivism rate of 54.6%, most | 24 |
| non-violent drug offenders will return to prison within three | 25 |
| years; and | 26 |
| WHEREAS, Members of the Illinois General Assembly have come | 27 |
| to understand that we cannot arrest ourselves out of this | 28 |
| problem, nor can we cure addicted people by warehousing them; |
|
|
|
HJ0109 |
- 3 - |
LRB094 19951 RLC 57311 r |
|
| 1 |
| and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, The General Assembly wishes to examine the | 3 |
| creation of a system of sanctions that utilizes diversion in | 4 |
| appropriate cases and reduces the escalating cost of | 5 |
| Corrections by eliminating mandatory sentencing and | 6 |
| incarceration for low-level nonviolent drug offenses and | 7 |
| provides the universal option of treatment, counseling, and | 8 |
| community service instead and wishes to explore whether such a | 9 |
| system will save valuable state funds, increase the public | 10 |
| safety in our communities, reduce the state prison population, | 11 |
| and help low-level nonviolent drug offenders learn to function | 12 |
| as profitable members of our communities; therefore, be it | 13 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 14 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 15 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois General Assembly | 16 |
| mandates that its members shall participate in a series of | 17 |
| public hearings beginning in May, 2006, aimed at defining the | 18 |
| depth of the problems associated with untreated drug addictions | 19 |
| and to find ways to identify resources to support treatment, to | 20 |
| identify policy changes that can improve diversion | 21 |
| opportunities and outcomes, and to develop solutions that will | 22 |
| address the public safety concerns of residents of Illinois | 23 |
| communities; and be it further
| 24 |
| RESOLVED, That a report on the findings and recommendations | 25 |
| shall be delivered to the General Assembly during the 2006 Veto | 26 |
| Session.
|
|