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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The adult female population in prisons in the
3 State of Illinois was 2,806 in 2004, a 154 percent increase
4 over the past ten years; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Of this population, less than 30 percent of these
6 female prisoners were incarcerated for committing violent
7 crimes; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Cook County Jail currently houses over 1,300 women
9 on any given day and, of this population, approximately 90
10 percent are charged with non-violent crimes; and
 
11     WHEREAS, In prisons in the State of Illinois, 82 percent of
12 women are mothers and almost 50 percent have children under
13 five years of age; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Each year at least 25,000 children in the State of
15 Illinois are impacted by maternal incarceration; and
 
16     WHEREAS, In the State of Illinois, at least 60,000 minor
17 children will have their mothers spend time in a State prison
18 while they are children; and
 
19     WHEREAS, An estimated 80 percent of all incarcerated women

 

 

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1 in the State of Illinois suffer from substance abuse problems;
2 the State of Illinois can place fewer than 20 percent of all
3 incarcerated women into its substance abuse programs; and
 
4     WHEREAS, It is a known fact that drug addiction causes
5 crime, destroys the family structure, creates havoc in
6 neighborhoods, and leaves paths of destruction in its wake;
7 individuals convicted of crimes who have not received
8 meaningful treatment while incarcerated continue to commit
9 crimes; and
 
10     WHEREAS, In the United States, by mid-year of 2003, the
11 number of adult female inmates rose 6.3 percent over the
12 previous year; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Community-based alternatives to incarceration for
14 women convicted of non-violent offenses would allow children to
15 stay with their mothers while their mothers receive appropriate
16 treatment; with the appropriate treatment, the mothers would be
17 less likely to commit additional offenses and would be able to
18 re-enter society as tax-paying citizens; in addition, their
19 children would be less likely to become the next generation of
20 incarcerated individuals; therefore, be it
 
21     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
22 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we

 

 

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1 recognize May 11, 2007, as Mothers in Prison, Children in
2 Crisis Day in the State of Illinois; and be it further
 
3     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4 presented to Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers
5 (CLAIM).