Bill Text: IL HJR0128 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Declares racism a public health crisis. Asks the Governor to create a working group to promote racial equity throughout Illinois. Commits to reviewing all state laws with a racial equity lens.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-01-08 - Referred to Rules Committee [HJR0128 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HJR0128-Introduced.html

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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The American Medical Association states that
racism contributes to health inequities in the United States;
and
WHEREAS, Social determinants of health, meaning the social
and material factors that influence health outcomes, have a
lifelong impact beginning even before birth; and
WHEREAS, The American Public Health Association (APHA) has
expressed that racism is a driving force of the social
determinants of health due to the resulting inequalities in a
number of matters, including housing, education, and
employment; and
WHEREAS, The APHA clarifies that racism is a social system
with multiple dimensions; individual racism is internalized or
interpersonal, while systemic racism is institutional or
structural and is a system of structuring opportunity and
assigning value based on the social interpretation of how one
looks; this system unfairly disadvantages specific individuals
and communities while unfairly giving advantages to other
individuals and communities and saps the strength of the whole
society through the waste of human resources; and

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WHEREAS, Almost all of the four hundred years of Black
Americans' experience was under slavery and Jim Crow laws that
subjected Black people to hardship and disadvantage in all
areas of life; and
WHEREAS, The Heartland Alliance Social IMPACT Research
Center's 2018 Poverty Report explains that poverty and violence
disproportionately impact minority communities, which are
characterized by lack of adequate public services, lack of
educational opportunities, poorer health outcomes, asset and
income inequality, and more; the underlying cause of all
mentioned above is rooted in historic and current systemic
racism, such as redlining, discrimination in schools, and other
practices; and
WHEREAS, The American Anthropological Association asserts
that genetic analyses show race to be a social construct not
rooted in meaningful biological difference; and
WHEREAS, There is clear data that racism negatively impacts
the lives of people of color in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, The American Psychological Association says that,
because of poverty and discrimination, racial minority
children are more likely to experience traumatic events than
White children; childhood trauma has negative impacts on

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academic, behavioral, and physical health outcomes; and
WHEREAS, Statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease
Control show a national disparity between Black and White
infant mortality rates with the State of Illinois having one of
the highest disparities between Black and White infant
mortality rates; and
WHEREAS, 2018 data collected by the Illinois Department of
Public Health reveals that non-Hispanic Black women are six
times as likely to die of a pregnancy-related condition when
compared to a non-Hispanic White woman; Black women had the
highest rate of severe maternal morbidity in Illinois from 2016
to 2017 with a rate of 101.5 per 10,000 deliveries; and
WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice
reported that seventy-one percent of youth in youth
correctional facilities were Black despite Black youth
representing only three percent of the people in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, The September 2020 Poverty, Income & Health
Insurance Update by the Heartland Alliance shows that the
poverty rate for Black Illinoisans is three times the poverty
rate of White Illinoisans, and the median income for Black
households is only fifty-eight per cent of the statewide
median; and

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WHEREAS, Illinois Department of Public Health data
indicates that Black Illinoisans have higher mortality rates in
heart disease, cancer, and opioid overdose and higher incidence
of diabetes compared to White Illinoisans; and
WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Public Health stated
that although health indicators such as life expectancy and
infant mortality have improved for most Americans, minorities
still experience shorter life expectancy and higher rates of
disability compared with non-minorities; and
WHEREAS, The APHA has identified law enforcement violence
as a public health issue that disproportionately affects
marginalized groups, including people of color, impacting both
physical and mental health outcomes; and
WHEREAS, The impact of racism on public health deserves
action from all levels of government; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we declare racism to be a public
health crisis affecting our entire State; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we ask the Governor to establish a working

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group to promote racial equity throughout this State; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That we support the establishment of a working
group to address these issues and to:
(1) Create a publicly accessible glossary of terms and
definitions concerning racism and health equity;
(2) Promote community engagement and provide tools for
government agencies to engage actively and authentically with
communities of color;
(3) Continue to work to build alliances with
organizations that have a legacy and track record of
confronting racism;
(4) Encourage community partners and stakeholders in
the education, employment, housing, and criminal justice and
safety arenas to recognize racism as a public health crisis and
take appropriate action;
(5) Continue to promote racially equitable economic
and workforce development in Illinois;
(6) Continue to promote racially equitable hiring and
promotion of all employees, including State employees;
(7) Provide training to all elected officials, staff,
funders, and grantees on workplace biases and how to mitigate
them;
(8) Promote and encourage all policies that prioritize
the health of people of color;

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(9) Support local, state, regional, and federal
initiatives that advance efforts to dismantle systematic
racism and mitigate exposure to adverse childhood experiences
and trauma;
(10) Incorporate educational efforts to address and
dismantle racism and to expand understanding of racism and how
racism affects individual and population health; and
(11) Secure adequate resources to successfully
accomplish the aforementioned activities; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we are committed to reviewing all portions
of Illinois state law with a racial equity lens; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That we are committed to conducting all human
resource, vendor selection, and grant management activities
with a racial equity lens, including reviewing all internal
policies and practices such as hiring, promotion, leadership
appointments, and funding; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
delivered to the Governor's Office and to all members of the
General Assembly.