Full Text of HR1499 095th General Assembly
HR1499 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, College presidents from more than 100 | 3 |
| universities are calling on lawmakers across the nation to | 4 |
| lower the drinking age from 21 to 18, citing that current law | 5 |
| encourages excessive drinking on campuses; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, The call to lower the drinking age is being used | 7 |
| to spark national debate about the drinking age; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, According to Monitoring the Future, an | 9 |
| organization which conducts studies on drug and alcohol use by | 10 |
| young people, when the 21-year-old drinking age was effectively | 11 |
| mandated by Congress in 1984, 45.4% of college students engaged | 12 |
| in binge drinking; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, By 2006, that figure was 40.2%, and the percentage | 14 |
| of students who reported drinking every day fell by more than a | 15 |
| quarter; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, A study by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse | 17 |
| and Alcoholism (NIAAA) suggests that, since that time, | 18 |
| alcohol-related fatalities have dropped 56%; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, The most dramatic decline in these deaths was | 20 |
| among children age 16-20, where crashes dropped by nearly 60% - |
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| from 5,224 in 1982 to 2,121 in 2006; and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, A recent study published in Accident Analysis and | 3 |
| Prevention finds that laws making it illegal for anyone under | 4 |
| the age of 21 to possess or purchase alcohol have led to an 11% | 5 |
| drop in alcohol-related fatal car crashes; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, The study also purports that states with strong | 7 |
| laws against the use of fake IDs report 7% fewer drunk-driving | 8 |
| deaths among drivers under the age of 21; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, Bradley University in Peoria has created a strict | 10 |
| Comprehensive Alcohol Action Plan that penalizes repeat | 11 |
| offenders and requires them to complete an online counseling | 12 |
| program; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, Many colleges across the country are attempting to | 14 |
| come up with alternatives to dissuade students from | 15 |
| participating in alcohol-related activities; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, Combating the cultural stigma of today's society | 17 |
| remains the greatest challenge in deterring our young people | 18 |
| from using alcohol; therefore, be it | 19 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 20 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we |
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| urge that the legal drinking age in Illinois remain at 21 years | 2 |
| of age; and be it further | 3 |
| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 4 |
| presented to the Illinois Board of Higher Education and all | 5 |
| public and private university presidents in Illinois.
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