SR0352 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0352 LRB097 12553 GRL 57037 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Enough cannot be said or written to laud the honorable service that United States veterans who served in all branches of its military have performed in the defense of this nation and in securing its vital strategic interests throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, Veterans' families have sacrificed many long months separated from their loved ones or, worse yet, suffer from their permanent and devastating loss; many families bear the burden of having to care for a severely maimed or wounded returning veteran; this places psychological and financial stress on both veterans and family caregivers; many of them may not be aware of programs or benefits that may be available to provide post-traumatic stress disorder counseling, legal assistance, medical care, jobs, housing, education, and the support they need to prevent their frighteningly high rate of suicide; and

WHEREAS, Many veterans and their families are not receiving the help they earned, were promised, and are entitled by law; this applies to not only those veterans from this nation's current conflicts, but to the Vietnam-era vet, who was far more neglected than all previous military veterans; this nation owes an apology to this generation of fighting men and women and must resolve that such shabby treatment of our military personnel will never happen again; and

WHEREAS, In a 2007 address, the Honorable Phil Hare, United States Congressman from Illinois' 17th District, noted that the State of Illinois ranks 48th in awarding disability claims made by veterans; he related the story of one Vietnam veteran who waited through 8 years of appeals for the veteran's disability award, having to start from scratch on several occasions; unfortunately, the veteran died before he collected any of the money to which he was entitled; and

WHEREAS, Whether one agrees with a particular conflict or not, these fighting men and women are doing what is required of them to fulfill their oath to defend our nation; when they return, they should be given all the respect and acknowledgement for their service that they deserve; more importantly, they should be provided with whatever they need to put their lives back together and be reintegrated into regular civilian life; and

WHEREAS, A referendum in support of full funding for the Veterans Administration had been initially placed on the ballot in the City of Chicago, followed by the Cook County Board placing the same question before the Cook County voters; this non-binding referendum was ultimately put before the voters in the entire State of Illinois, where it garnered an unheard of 96% of the vote, showing an overwhelming voter sentiment for funding support for veterans and their families; and

WHEREAS, Our nation's veteran families, comprised of 26 million veterans, 20 million wives, and 33 million mothers and fathers, make up approximately one third of this nation's population; it is incumbent that the citizens of this great State respect the immense sacrifice that has been made by these veterans and their families by providing them with their own media platform to assist them in finding the information to get the help they need; and

WHEREAS, Throughout our nation's history, the spirit of initiative and volunteerism has created a multiplicity of veteran's agencies and organizations that do great work on behalf of or directly providing services for veterans and their families; however, they are only able to help as much as their funding, and an awareness of their existence, can reach; veterans and their families have no idea that many of these programs are available, let alone how to access them; a Veterans cable television channel with a supporting web site would go far in raising awareness concerning these programs, consolidating communication, and making them easy to find so that services can be successfully delivered to those who are in desperate need of them; and

WHEREAS, It is additionally incumbent upon this Body to endorse the concept of, and assist in finding funding for, a Veterans cable access channel that will provide programming aimed at this underserved population; the content would contain a viral video "One Stop Shop" with such shows as "John Marshall Law School Veteran's Law Clinic", "Finding a Job through the 'Helmets to Hardhats' Project", or "Wounded Veterans and Their Families: Help Through The Military Order of Purple Hearts"; such programming possibilities have never been available; the concept to provide such service for veterans and their families is unique; and

WHEREAS, Partnerships are possible with various educational institutions, such as Columbia College or Northwestern University, where media programs and facilities already exist; such partnerships would be beneficial for all, giving their students much needed experience and the various veteran organizations a production crew for their shows; there are unused cable channels as well as private and public resources available to support such a project; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Cable Television and Communications Association of Illinois to look into, at its earliest convenience, the possibility of facilitating the dedication of an unused cable channel to broadcast programs of, by, and for the United States military veteran; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the Cable Television and Communications Association of Illinois.