Full Text of HR0690 99th General Assembly
HR0690 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Governor and the members of the General | 3 | | Assembly seek to reduce the number of prisoners incarcerated in | 4 | | penal facilities of the Illinois Department of Corrections; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, A significant reduction in the prison population | 6 | | cannot be achieved without a significant reduction in the | 7 | | recidivism rate; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The General Assembly has begun to revisit and | 9 | | review some of the outdated policies that trap people with | 10 | | criminal convictions at the margins of society and drive many | 11 | | of them back to jail by denying them jobs, housing, and | 12 | | education; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The United States Department of Education | 14 | | recently announced a Second Chance Pell Pilot Program to test | 15 | | new models to allow incarcerated Americans to receive Pell | 16 | | Grants and pursue post-secondary education with the goal of | 17 | | helping them turn their lives around and ultimately get jobs, | 18 | | support their families, and stay out of trouble; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Through this pilot program, incarcerated | 20 | | individuals who otherwise meet Title IV eligibility | 21 | | requirements and are eligible for release, particularly within |
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| 1 | | the next 5 years, could access Pell Grants to pursue | 2 | | post-secondary education and training; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, The Pell Grants acquired through this pilot | 4 | | program can only be used to pay for tuition, fees, books, and | 5 | | supplies required by an individual's education program; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, A 2013 Department of Justice-funded study from the | 7 | | RAND Corporation found that incarcerated individuals who | 8 | | participated in correctional education were 43% less likely to | 9 | | return to prison within 3 years than prisoners who didn't | 10 | | participate in correctional education programs; the | 11 | | researchers involved in the RAND study estimated that, for | 12 | | every dollar invested in correctional education programs, four | 13 | | to five dollars are saved on 3-year re-incarceration costs; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, The deadline for post-secondary institutions to | 15 | | apply for this pilot program for the 2016-2017 academic year is | 16 | | September 31, 2015; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 18 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 19 | | urge the Illinois Department of Corrections to collaborate with | 20 | | one or more institutions of higher learning in the submission | 21 | | of an application for the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program; and | 22 | | be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | delivered to the Director of the Illinois Department of | 3 | | Corrections.
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