Full Text of HR0412 93rd General Assembly
HR0412enr 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR0412 Enrolled |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION 412
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| WHEREAS, It is the long-standing policy of
this
State that | 3 |
| no person should suffer unnecessarily from cold or
hunger, or | 4 |
| be
deprived of shelter or the basic rights incident to shelter; | 5 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, At the present time, many persons have been | 7 |
| rendered homeless as
a result
of economic adversity, a severe | 8 |
| shortage of affordable housing,
and
increased stress due to the | 9 |
| complexity of daily living that has
created an
inability on the | 10 |
| part of those persons to interact in society; and
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| WHEREAS, It is
the intent of the House of Representatives
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| to lessen the adverse affects and conditions caused by the lack | 13 |
| of
residence or a home; and
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| WHEREAS, No person's rights, privileges, or access to
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| public services should be denied or abridged solely because he | 16 |
| or she is
homeless; such a person should be granted the same | 17 |
| rights and privileges as
any
other citizen of this State; and
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| WHEREAS, These rights include but are not limited
to the | 19 |
| following:
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| (1) a person's right to live in any community in this | 21 |
| State in
which he or she can afford to live;
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| (2) a person's right to choose a type of living | 23 |
| arrangements in
accordance with
local regulations without | 24 |
| harassment or interference from
any other
citizen or from | 25 |
| any public or private entity;
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| (3) a person's right to employment and training | 27 |
| opportunities in
accordance with his or her interests and | 28 |
| abilities;
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| (4) a person's right to access to emergency medical | 30 |
| health
services
in any health care facility doing business | 31 |
| in this State;
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HR0412 Enrolled |
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| (5) a person's right to manage his or her own personal
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| finances notwithstanding his or her living arrangements,
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| unless (i) the person voluntarily signs a
written | 4 |
| agreement, sworn to and witnessed before a notary
public, | 5 |
| authorizing
an individual or agency to manage his or her | 6 |
| finances,
(ii) the person resides in a shelter for homeless | 7 |
| persons and has enrolled
in a savings
program designed to | 8 |
| provide rent money upon the person's departure from the
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| shelter, or
(iii) the person has been ruled or adjudicated | 10 |
| by a court of competent
jurisdiction to be incompetent to | 11 |
| manage his or her financial affairs;
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| (6) a person's right to not be coerced or penalized in | 13 |
| any way
for not taking any medication
or for not undergoing | 14 |
| any medical treatment that has not
been authorized by a
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| qualified physician;
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| (7) in the case of a group living arrangement or | 17 |
| long-term
care facility, a person's right to receive and | 18 |
| sign any check, voucher,
or other warrant or legal tender | 19 |
| issued in his or her name
before
the moneys may be expended | 20 |
| by the person's landlord or a
public or private agency, | 21 |
| unless the person
waives the right in a writing sworn to | 22 |
| before a notary
public; if the person is unable to sign his | 23 |
| or her name, the
person may make his or her signature with | 24 |
| an "X" that is
witnessed by 2 other
persons not employed or | 25 |
| directly associated with the
landlord or agency,
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| preferably a relative or guardian of the person or someone
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| designated by the person beforehand;
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| (8) a person's right to vote, which may not be denied | 29 |
| solely
because the person does not have a permanent | 30 |
| residence;
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| (9) a person's right of visitation with
family members, | 32 |
| friends, clergy, and professional or public
consultants
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| notwithstanding the person's living arrangements, as long
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| as the visitation does not
interfere with the smooth | 35 |
| operation of the person's place
of residence;
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| (10) a person's right to receive public services or
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| accommodations offered to any other citizen of this State
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| in accordance, with
established eligibility guidelines for | 3 |
| those services; and
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| (11) a person's right to confidentiality of records; | 5 |
| homeless shelters
should obtain a voluntary written | 6 |
| release from a homeless person prior
to disclosing any | 7 |
| personal information regarding the homeless person,
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| including, but not limited to, name, social security | 9 |
| number, and birth
date, except in aggregate form; the right | 10 |
| to confidentiality of records
includes the dissemination | 11 |
| of materials to other agencies, either
private or public; | 12 |
| and the homeless person should be given the option of
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| whether to release records via informed consent, based on | 14 |
| guidelines
from the Office of Human Research Protections, | 15 |
| United States Department
of Health and Human Services, | 16 |
| including:
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| (A) the expected duration of the subject's | 18 |
| participation;
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| (B) an explanation of whom to contact for answers | 20 |
| to
pertinent questions about the research and research | 21 |
| subjects'
rights, and whom to contact in the event of a | 22 |
| research-related
injury to the subject;
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| (C) a statement that participation in releasing | 24 |
| records is
voluntary, refusal to participate will | 25 |
| involve no penalty or loss
of benefits to which the | 26 |
| subject is otherwise entitled, and the
subject may | 27 |
| discontinue participation in the record release at any
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| time without penalty or loss of benefits to which the | 29 |
| subject is
otherwise entitled;
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| (D) a description of any reasonably foreseeable | 31 |
| risks or
discomforts to the subject; and
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| (E) a statement describing the extent, if any, to | 33 |
| which
confidentiality of records identifying the | 34 |
| subject will be
maintained; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
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HR0412 Enrolled |
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| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 2 |
| the
House Task Force on the Rights of Homeless Persons is | 3 |
| established, to consist
of 6
members, 3 appointed by the | 4 |
| Speaker of the House of Representatives and 3
appointed by
the | 5 |
| Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; the Speaker | 6 |
| shall
designate one of
his appointees as the chairperson; and | 7 |
| the members shall serve without
compensation
but
shall be | 8 |
| reimbursed for their reasonable and necessary expenses from | 9 |
| moneys
appropriated for that purpose; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall study ways in which the | 11 |
| Department of
Public Health could monitor and enforce the
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| rights of homeless persons set forth in this Resolution, | 13 |
| including ways in
which the Department
could utilize
one or | 14 |
| more local
health departments or local health officers to | 15 |
| monitor and enforce
those rights; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall also study ways in | 17 |
| which the Department
of Commerce
and Economic Opportunity could
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| establish priorities of eligibility for temporary rental or | 19 |
| other
housing
assistance among the various categories of | 20 |
| persons needing assistance
in
obtaining or retaining housing, | 21 |
| including, without limitation, persons
subject to immediate | 22 |
| eviction for nonpayment of rent or subject to foreclosure
for
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| nonpayment of mortgage installments or property taxes, when | 24 |
| nonpayment
is
attributable to illness, unemployment, | 25 |
| underemployment, or any other
failure
of lack of resources | 26 |
| beyond the person's control; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall receive the assistance | 28 |
| of legislative
staff and shall report its findings to the House | 29 |
| of Representatives on or
before January 12, 2005.
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