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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Nearly 28,000,000 people in the United States | ||||||
| 3 | have asthma, of which approximately 4,750,000 are children; | ||||||
| 4 | and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Over 1,100,000 adults and children in Illinois | ||||||
| 6 | have asthma; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Asthma's effects lead to 1,000,000 individuals | ||||||
| 8 | visiting emergency departments per year; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Asthma is one of the most common noncommunicable | ||||||
| 10 | diseases among children, and as a chronic disease among | ||||||
| 11 | children, it is a leading cause of hospitalizations and school | ||||||
| 12 | absences; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, The total economic cost of asthma in the United | ||||||
| 14 | States was $81,900,000,000 per year from 2008 to 2013, which | ||||||
| 15 | is approximately $115,000,000,000 today when adjusted for | ||||||
| 16 | inflation; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous individuals in | ||||||
| 18 | the United States face the highest burden of asthma; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Asthma is a manageable disease that claimed the | ||||||
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| 1 | lives of over 3,100 people in the United States in 2023 alone, | ||||||
| 2 | including 127 people in Illinois; and | ||||||
| 3 | WHEREAS, There exists a connection between asthma and food | ||||||
| 4 | allergies, as food allergies can trigger asthma symptoms; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Approximately 21,800,000 people in the United | ||||||
| 6 | States have food allergies, including about 3,900,000 | ||||||
| 7 | children; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, Children with food allergies are two to four | ||||||
| 9 | times more likely to have asthma or other allergic diseases; | ||||||
| 10 | and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Over the past 20 years, food allergies have | ||||||
| 12 | increased among children in the United States, with the | ||||||
| 13 | greatest increase being seen in Black children; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, People with asthma and food allergies need access | ||||||
| 15 | to affordable health insurance and to the medications and | ||||||
| 16 | devices they need at affordable prices; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, It is appropriate to designate the month of May | ||||||
| 18 | as Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 19 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL | ||||||
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| 1 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare May 2026 as | ||||||
| 2 | Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month in the State of Illinois, | ||||||
| 3 | and we call upon all Illinoisans to observe the month with | ||||||
| 4 | appropriate ceremonies and activities. | ||||||