Full Text of HR0895 93rd General Assembly
HR0895 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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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;
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| at the present time, many persons have been rendered homeless | 6 |
| as
a result
of economic adversity, a severe shortage of | 7 |
| affordable housing,
and
increased stress due to the complexity | 8 |
| of daily living that has
created an
inability on the part of | 9 |
| those persons to interact in society; and
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| WHEREAS, No person's rights, privileges, or access to
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| public services may be denied or abridged solely because he or | 12 |
| she is
homeless; such a person possesses the same rights and | 13 |
| privileges as
any
other citizen of this State; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, These rights include but are not limited
to the | 15 |
| following:
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| (1) The right to live in any community in this State in
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| which he or she can afford to live;
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| (2) The right to choose a type of living arrangements | 19 |
| in
accordance with
local regulations without harassment or | 20 |
| interference from
any other
citizen or from any public or | 21 |
| private entity;
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| (3) The right to employment and training opportunities | 23 |
| in
accordance with his or her interests and abilities;
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| (4) The right to access emergency medical health
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| services
in any health care facility doing business in this | 26 |
| State;
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| (5) The 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 | 30 |
| agreement, sworn to and witnessed before a notary
public, | 31 |
| authorizing
an individual or agency to manage his or her | 32 |
| finances,
(ii) the person resides in a shelter for homeless | 33 |
| persons and has enrolled
in a savings
program designed to |
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| provide rent money upon the person's departure from the
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| shelter, or
(iii) the person has been ruled or adjudicated | 3 |
| by a court of competent
jurisdiction to be incompetent to | 4 |
| manage his or her financial affairs;
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| (6) The right to not be coerced or penalized in any way
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| for not taking any medication
or for not undergoing any | 7 |
| 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 | 10 |
| long-term
care facility, the right to receive and sign any | 11 |
| check, voucher,
or other warrant or legal tender issued in | 12 |
| his or her name
before
the moneys may be expended by the | 13 |
| person's landlord or a
public or private agency, unless the | 14 |
| person
waives the right in a writing sworn to before a | 15 |
| notary
public; if the person is unable to sign his or her | 16 |
| name, the
person may make his or her signature with an "X" | 17 |
| that is
witnessed by 2 other
persons not employed or | 18 |
| 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) The right to vote, which may not be denied solely | 22 |
| because the person does not have a permanent residence, | 23 |
| notwithstanding any provision of the Election Code;
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| (9) The right of visitation with
family members, | 25 |
| 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 | 28 |
| operation of the person's place
of residence;
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| (10) The 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 | 32 |
| those services;
and
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| (11) The right to confidentiality of records; homeless | 34 |
| shelters
should obtain a voluntary written release from a | 35 |
| homeless person prior
to disclosing any personal | 36 |
| information regarding the homeless person,
including, but |
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| not limited to, name, social security number, and birth
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| date, except in aggregate form; the right to | 3 |
| confidentiality of records
includes the dissemination of | 4 |
| materials to other agencies, either
private or public; the | 5 |
| homeless person should be given the option of
whether to | 6 |
| release records via informed consent, based on guidelines
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| from the Office of Human Research Protections, United | 8 |
| States Department
of Health and Human Services, including:
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| (A) the expected duration of the subject's | 10 |
| participation;
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| (B) an explanation of whom to contact for answers | 12 |
| to
pertinent questions about the research and research | 13 |
| subjects'
rights, and whom to contact in the event of a | 14 |
| research-related
injury to the subject;
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| (C) a statement that participation in releasing | 16 |
| records is
voluntary, refusal to participate will | 17 |
| involve no penalty or loss
of benefits to which the | 18 |
| subject is otherwise entitled, and the
subject may | 19 |
| discontinue participation in the record release at any
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| time without penalty or loss of benefits to which the | 21 |
| subject is
otherwise entitled;
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| (D) a description of any reasonably foreseeable | 23 |
| risks or
discomforts to the subject; and
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| (E) a statement describing the extent, if any, to | 25 |
| which
confidentiality of records identifying the | 26 |
| subject will be
maintained; and
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| WHEREAS, A task force should be created to study these | 28 |
| rights and others possessed by homeless persons and make | 29 |
| recommendations concerning legislation that is needed to | 30 |
| ensure that homeless persons are able to fully enjoy all of | 31 |
| their rights; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 33 |
| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 34 |
| the House Task Force on the Rights of the Homeless is created, |
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| consisting of 9 members appointed by the Speaker of the House | 2 |
| of Representatives as follows: 4 members who are legislators; 4 | 3 |
| members of the public who represent advocates for homeless | 4 |
| persons; and one chairperson of the task force; and be it | 5 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That the task force shall study the rights of | 7 |
| homeless persons, including the rights set forth in this | 8 |
| Resolution as well as other rights possessed by homeless | 9 |
| persons; the task force shall conduct hearings in various | 10 |
| geographic areas of the State as it deems appropriate and shall | 11 |
| give interested persons an opportunity to present oral or | 12 |
| written evidence, or both, concerning the rights of homeless | 13 |
| persons and barriers to homeless persons' enjoyment of their | 14 |
| rights; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the task force shall report its findings and | 16 |
| recommendations to the House of Representatives no later than | 17 |
| January 1, 2005.
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