Bill Text: IL HR0433 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges that violence be labeled as a disease and treated as a public health crisis.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 33-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-11-30 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin [HR0433 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-HR0433-Introduced.html
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
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 |
| |||||||
| |||||||
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, In the 100th General Assembly, the Safe and Full | ||||||
12 | Employment (SAFE) Act was
filed in order create a process to | ||||||
13 | identify high-violence communities and prioritize
state | ||||||
14 | dollars to go to those communities to fund programs that would | ||||||
15 | address the underlying
causes of crime and violence; and
| ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Due to a variety of reasons, including in | ||||||
17 | particular the State's budget impasse, funds were
unavailable | ||||||
18 | to establish such comprehensive policy; and
| ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, Policies like the SAFE Act are needed in order to | ||||||
20 | provide communities that have
historically suffered from | ||||||
21 | divestment, poverty, and incarceration with smart solutions |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | that can
solve the plague of violence; and
| ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, It is clear that violence is a public health | ||||||
3 | problem that needs to treated as such,
a disease; and
| ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, Research has shown that when violence is treated | ||||||
5 | in such a way, then its effects can be
slowed or even halted; | ||||||
6 | therefore, be it
| ||||||
7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
8 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
9 | we stand together with the victims of violence and their loved | ||||||
10 | ones who are being plagued by this disease in communities | ||||||
11 | across Illinois, and that we urge that violence be labeled and | ||||||
12 | treated as a public health crisis in order to effectively | ||||||
13 | address it; and be it further
| ||||||
14 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
15 | delivered to Pastor Anthony W. Williams of
the First | ||||||
16 | Congregational Church of Berwyn.
|