Full Text of SR0244 97th General Assembly
SR0244 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate recognize | 3 | | bicycling as a positive, important activity for children under | 4 | | the age of 16, for the purposes of transportation, exercise, | 5 | | recreation, and general physical and mental well-being; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Five of every six middle school students and more | 7 | | than two of every three high school students report riding | 8 | | bicycles within the past year; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Significant numbers of children are injured while | 10 | | riding bicycles, in many instances with injuries that could | 11 | | have been prevented or reduced in seriousness if the young | 12 | | bicycle riders were wearing bicycle helmets; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Nationally, only 20% to 25% of all bicyclists wear | 14 | | bicycle helmets, despite the fact that nearly 70% of all fatal | 15 | | bicycle crashes involve head injuries; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Bicycle helmets reduce the risk of head injuries | 17 | | by up to 88% and reduce the risk of facial injuries by 65%; | 18 | | thousands of head and facial injuries suffered by Illinois | 19 | | children would be prevented every year if every child wore a | 20 | | bicycle helmet; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, 500,000 bicycle-related injuries are treated in | 2 | | U.S. hospital emergency rooms every year, with over half the | 3 | | injured being children and nearly half those injuries involving | 4 | | the head or neck region; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The annual cost of bicycle-related injuries and | 6 | | deaths in the United States is $8 billion; every dollar spent | 7 | | on a bicycle helmet saves our society $30 in indirect medical | 8 | | costs; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Numerous Illinois retailers, community groups, | 10 | | and hospital programs currently make bicycle helmets available | 11 | | to children at low or no cost; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Numerous groups advocate for bicycle helmet usage | 13 | | by children, including the American Academy of Pediatrics | 14 | | (Illinois Chapter), the Brain Injury Association of Illinois, | 15 | | the Chicago Medical Legal Partnership for Children, the | 16 | | Children's Memorial Hospital, the Cook County Department of | 17 | | Public Health, Health and Disability Advocates, Helmets | 18 | | First!, the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians, the Illinois | 19 | | Association of School Nurses, the Illinois Chapter of the | 20 | | Emergency Nurses Association, the Illinois Hospital | 21 | | Association, the Illinois State Medical Society, the Illinois | 22 | | Maternal and Child Health Coalition, the Loyola University | 23 | | Medical Center, the Quad Cities Bicycle Club, the |
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| 1 | | Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, SafeKids Illinois, the | 2 | | Chicago Shriners Hospital for Children, the Macon County and | 3 | | Winnebago County Shriners Hospitals for Children, the | 4 | | Stakeholders Collaboration to Improve Student Health, Think | 5 | | First National Injury Prevention (7 Illinois Chapters), and the | 6 | | University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Educating children as to the benefit of wearing | 8 | | bicycle helmets while cycling will contribute to their safety | 9 | | and well-being; numerous agencies and associations, including | 10 | | the office of the Illinois Secretary of State, the Illinois | 11 | | Department of Public Health, local health and law enforcement | 12 | | departments, schools, medical professionals, advocates for | 13 | | children, cycling groups, and retail sellers of bicycles, could | 14 | | provide a great service to Illinois children by expanding, | 15 | | commencing, or collaborating on activities designed to convey | 16 | | this message of great public value; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 18 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Governor | 19 | | and the Illinois Secretary of State to convene a task force or | 20 | | working group, composed of representatives of the | 21 | | aforementioned or like-minded groups, to explore, discuss, and | 22 | | coordinate efforts to conduct a public awareness campaign to | 23 | | educate the general public about the value of cycling to | 24 | | children, along with the safety benefits of children wearing |
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| 1 | | bicycle helmets; and be it further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That we urge Illinois schools, under the | 3 | | direction of the State Board of Education, to participate in | 4 | | the development of activities and programs that would encourage | 5 | | child bicycle riders to wear bicycle helmets; and be it further | 6 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 7 | | delivered to Governor Pat Quinn and Secretary of State Jesse | 8 | | White.
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