Full Text of HR0433 101st General Assembly
HR0433 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, In the State of Illinois, two thirds of gun | 3 | | violence is related to suicide, and one
third is related to | 4 | | homicide, claiming approximately 12,000
lives a year; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Violence has plagued communities, predominantly | 6 | | poor and distressed communities in urban settings, which have | 7 | | always treated violence as a criminal justice issue, instead of | 8 | | a public health
issue; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, On February 21, 2018, Pastor Anthony Williams was | 10 | | informed that his son, Nehemiah
William, had been shot to | 11 | | death; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Due to this disheartening event, Pastor Anthony | 13 | | Williams reached out to state Rep.
Elizabeth "Lisa" Hernandez, | 14 | | urging that the issue of violence be treated as a disease; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In 2018, elected officials from all levels of | 16 | | government started a coalition to address violence as a | 17 | | disease, with the assistance of faith-based organizations, | 18 | | advocates, and community members and held a statewide listening | 19 | | tour from August 2018 to April 2019; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, The listening tour consisted of stops on the South |
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| 1 | | Side and West Side of Chicago,
in Maywood, Springfield, and | 2 | | East St. Louis, with a future scheduled visit in Danville; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, During the statewide listening sessions, | 4 | | community members actively discussed
neighborhood safety, | 5 | | defining violence and how and why violence occurs in their | 6 | | communities; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The listening sessions provided different | 8 | | solutions to address violence, however,
all sessions confirmed | 9 | | a disconnect from the priorities of government and the needs of | 10 | | these
communities; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois should create a process to | 12 | | identify high violence communities, also known as R3 areas, and | 13 | | prioritize state dollars to go to these communities to fund | 14 | | programs as well as community and economic development projects | 15 | | that would address the underlying causes of crime and violence; | 16 | | and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Due to a variety of reasons, including in | 18 | | particular the State's budget impasse, funds were
unavailable | 19 | | to establish such comprehensive policy; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Policies like R3 (Restore, Reinvest, and Renew) | 21 | | are needed in order to provide communities that have
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| 1 | | historically suffered from divestment, poverty, and | 2 | | incarceration with smart solutions that can
solve the plague of | 3 | | violence; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, It is clear that violence is a public health | 5 | | problem that needs to treated as such,
a disease; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Research has shown that when violence is treated | 7 | | in such a way, then its effects can be
slowed or even halted; | 8 | | therefore, be it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 10 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 11 | | we stand together with the victims of violence and their loved | 12 | | ones who are being plagued by this disease in communities | 13 | | across Illinois, and that we urge that violence be labeled and | 14 | | treated as a public health crisis in order to effectively | 15 | | address it; and be it further
| 16 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 17 | | delivered to Pastor Anthony W. Williams of
the First | 18 | | Congregational Church of Berwyn.
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