HR0883 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0883 LRB098 20449 MST 56313 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois finds itself in the vortex of a heroin crisis, the signs of which can be found throughout the State; and

WHEREAS, The number of heroin-related deaths in Chicago's collar counties has reached record-breaking levels in recent years; according to the Lake County Coroner's Office, heroin contributed to the deaths of 48 people in Lake County in 2012, up from 42 in 2011; DuPage County reported a record 46 heroin-related deaths in 2013; in suburban Riverside, a couple allegedly were on a heroin binge and found unconscious in an automobile stopped on a railroad crossing; in Will County in 2012, the 53 heroin deaths surpassed the 34 car crash deaths as the leading cause of accidental deaths for the first time since the Will County Coroner's Office began tracking heroin-related fatalities in 1999; in downstate Madison County, 3 victims of heroin overdoses were found within one 5-hour period; and

WHEREAS, Illinois is not alone in its struggle with the heroin crisis; according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, there was a 21% increase in fatal heroin overdoses nationwide from 2006 to 2010; Governor Peter Shumlin of Vermont, where heroin addiction is up 770% since 2000, devoted most of his recent State of the State address to his state's heroin epidemic; and

WHEREAS, The recent arrest of Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman was a welcome development in the battle against heroin; his Sinaloa drug cartel is allegedly responsible for the majority of heroin coming into the Chicago region; however, the money to be made by drug traffickers remains too huge for the heroin trade to be stopped by Guzman's arrest; and

WHEREAS, Law enforcement alone cannot end the heroin scourge; State-funding for prevention has been reduced by 88% and treatment by 42% over the past 6 years - during which time the heroin crisis has escalated across the State; the current system of relying on criminal penalties is failing to solve the problem; and

WHEREAS, Oftentimes, addiction to prescription opiates precedes heroin use; and heroin is much cheaper and easier to obtain than drugs such as Oxycontin and Vicodin; and

WHEREAS, Drug cartels are flooding the Chicago market with relatively inexpensive heroin, which is often cheaper and easier to obtain than a six-pack of beer; it can be smoked or snorted, thus decreasing the stigma of the drug, especially with teenagers; fatalities are escalating partly because some heroin is now laced with a high-boosting and hazardous substance, Fentanyl; and

WHEREAS, Family, friends, loved ones, teens, and young adults, whether they are in cities, the suburbs, or rural communities, are all at an increased risk of heroin overdose; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare a Heroin State of Emergency in Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we direct the House Task Force on Heroin Crisis to develop a comprehensive, bold, and durable package of legislative proposals to combat the Illinois heroin crisis; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to Governor Pat Quinn, Department of Human Services Secretary Michelle Saddler, House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton, and Attorney General Lisa Madigan.