Full Text of HR0495 99th General Assembly
HR0495 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Article X, Section 1 of the Illinois Constitution | 3 | | provides that "A fundamental goal of the People of the State is | 4 | | the educational development of all persons to the limits of | 5 | | their capacities."; the Section also provides that "The State | 6 | | shall provide for an efficient system of high quality public | 7 | | educational institutions and services." and that "The State has | 8 | | the primary responsibility for financing the system of public | 9 | | education."; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The economic competitiveness of the United States | 11 | | and Illinois in the global economy requires a well-educated | 12 | | workforce; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, In 2015, education is more important than ever | 14 | | because it is an essential step to entering and remaining in | 15 | | the middle class; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, High school dropouts are more than twice as likely | 17 | | to be unemployed and 3 times as likely to receive welfare | 18 | | assistance; nationally, this costs billions of dollars to | 19 | | government-funded assistance programs annually; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, The United States Census Bureau estimates that a | 21 | | person with a high school diploma will earn $9,634 more per |
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| 1 | | year than someone without a high school diploma; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, In 2014, people without a high school diploma had | 3 | | a 9% unemployment rate, compared to a 6% rate for those with a | 4 | | high school diploma; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, A well-educated citizenry improves the business | 6 | | climate by providing highly skilled workers that employers | 7 | | need; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, According to a Georgetown University study, the | 9 | | United States economy will face a shortage of 5 million workers | 10 | | with the necessary education and training by 2020; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The majority of jobs that will be created will | 12 | | require some sort of education and training after high school; | 13 | | and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Males with a college education live an average of | 15 | | 8 years longer than those without a high school diploma, while | 16 | | females with a college education lived an average of 6 years | 17 | | longer; males with a college education are also 55% more likely | 18 | | to vote than those without a high school diploma, and females | 19 | | with a college education are 40% more likely to vote than those | 20 | | without a high school diploma; a one-year increase in median | 21 | | education level is associated with a more than 13% increase in |
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| 1 | | political primary turnouts; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Between 1987 and 2007, the United States has | 3 | | increased spending on incarceration by 127%, compared with a | 4 | | 21% increase in funding for education during the same time | 5 | | period; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Forty-one percent of all prisoners have not | 7 | | completed high school, compared to 18% of the general adult | 8 | | population; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The annual cost of incarcerating an individual is | 10 | | roughly $32,000, while the annual cost of educating a student | 11 | | is about $11,000; a 5% increase in male graduation rates | 12 | | nationally would save an estimated $5 billion annually in | 13 | | crime-related expenses; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Investment in education is shown to prevent | 15 | | violence by providing opportunities and knowledge that create a | 16 | | higher quality life; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The average annual public health cost is an | 18 | | estimated $2,700 per high school dropout, $1,000 per high | 19 | | school graduate, and $170 per college graduate; it is estimated | 20 | | that if every high school dropout graduated, the national | 21 | | savings in public health costs would exceed $40 billion |
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| 1 | | annually; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, The foundation level is the statutorily set | 3 | | minimum per-pupil funding necessary to adequately educate | 4 | | public K-12 students in Illinois through a combination of State | 5 | | and local resources; the foundation level has remained at | 6 | | $6,119 since the 2009-2010 school year, despite rising costs of | 7 | | education; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The Education Funding Advisory Board recommended | 9 | | that the foundation level be changed to $8,899 for Fiscal Year | 10 | | 2016 to adequately fund the educational needs of students; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has not fully funded K-12 | 12 | | education since Fiscal Year 2009; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, For Fiscal Year 2015, General State Aid to schools | 14 | | was prorated at 87.1% and the State's share of K-12 education | 15 | | funding was underfunded by nearly $650 million; Illinois | 16 | | currently ranks last in state share of P-12 education funding; | 17 | | and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Improved education and more stable employment | 19 | | greatly increase tax revenue, such as a return of at least 7 | 20 | | dollars for every dollar invested in pre-kindergarten | 21 | | education; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, A high quality education system should be the | 2 | | identity and legacy that we establish for Illinois and the | 3 | | United States; in addition, education should be the number one | 4 | | budget priority for the State of Illinois; therefore, be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 6 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 7 | | acknowledge the importance of having a high quality education | 8 | | system and all of the societal benefits that go along with it; | 9 | | and be it further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That we encourage the General Assembly to make | 11 | | education a priority in the Fiscal Year 2016 budget and to | 12 | | fully fund elementary and secondary education; and be it | 13 | | further | 14 | | RESOLVED, That we encourage the business community to | 15 | | advocate for a high quality education system in Illinois, which | 16 | | will benefit the business climate as well as the citizens of | 17 | | Illinois; and be it further | 18 | | RESOLVED, That we encourage the General Assembly to | 19 | | continue to strive to create an adequately funded and high | 20 | | quality education system for the benefit of all citizens.
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