SR0643 LRB096 21016 JAM 36864 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The United States economy is experiencing the
3 worst slow down in the past 30 years and is in a severe
4 recession; and
 
5     WHEREAS, At 26%, this year's summer teen (16 to 19 years
6 old) employment rate was the worst in post-World War II
7 history, with Black and Hispanic youth the hardest hit groups;
8 and
 
9     WHEREAS, In the summer of 2009, more than 2 million
10 low-income youth were out of work and on the streets; and
 
11     WHEREAS, In Illinois, in 2009, 72% of all teens, 87% of
12 Black teens, and 70% of Latino teens were jobless; and
 
13     WHEREAS, The jobless rate of teens in Illinois rose from
14 52% in 2000 to 72% in 2009; Black teen joblessness rose from
15 79% in 2000 to 88% in 2009; and Latino teen joblessness rose
16 from 60% to 70% during those years; and
 
17     WHEREAS, There is discussion in Congress of another
18 stimulus to help prevent a slump in the economy; and
 
19     WHEREAS, From 1964 until 2000 when it was ended, there was

 

 

SR0643 - 2 - LRB096 21016 JAM 36864 r

1 a separate summer youth employment program for over 750,000
2 low-income youth; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Teen employment has a variety of long-term
4 benefits for youth as well as the short-term improvement in
5 their earnings and income, and the more teens work when they
6 are 16 and 17, the more likely they are to work when they are 18
7 and 19 and then are more likely to work when they are 20 and 21;
8 teen employment raises earnings of youth when they are 25; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Teens who work are more likely to get trained by
10 their employers via formal apprenticeship training, and
11 low-income youth who work more in high school, especially
12 males, are less likely to drop out of high school, and female
13 teens who work more are less likely to get pregnant; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Last year, the United States Congress and
15 President Obama passed a $787 billion stimulus for the economy
16 with $1.2 billion for summer youth employment that employed
17 over 330,000 jobless youth across the country; and
 
18     WHEREAS, For this summer, there is a great need to continue
19 this program, but at this point there is no funding allocated;
20 and
 
21     WHEREAS, Senator Patty Murray from the state of Washington

 

 

SR0643 - 3 - LRB096 21016 JAM 36864 r

1 has proposed a $1.5 billion summer and year-round youth
2 employment program; therefore, be it
 
3     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
4 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Illinois Senate
5 urges President Obama and Congress to allocate $2 billion of
6 the next proposed economic stimulus to create an employment
7 program throughout the year and with a particular emphasis on
8 the summer for 700,000 youth (13 to 21 years old), combining
9 education and productive work in their neighborhoods; teens
10 would earn money while they are producing meaningful work, and
11 they will spend this money immediately, providing a direct
12 economic stimulus to the United States economy; and be it
13 further
 
14     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15 presented to President Obama, the Majority Leader of the United
16 States Senate, and the Speaker of the United States House of
17 Representatives.