Full Text of HJR0053 099th General Assembly
HJ0053 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The General Assembly recognizes that the State of | 3 | | Illinois experiences overcrowding in prison and jail | 4 | | populations and a continued high rate of recidivism of | 5 | | approximately 50%; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois currently spends $1.3 | 7 | | billion per
year on imprisonment of adults; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Nationally, 50% of incarcerated persons have | 9 | | mental
health problems, 60% have substance use disorders (SUDs) | 10 | | and
33% have both; that many of these incarcerated persons are
| 11 | | non-violent offenders whose crimes are directly related to
| 12 | | their untreated or inadequately treated mental health
| 13 | | problems, SUDs, or both; and that many of these incarcerated | 14 | | persons
have a high rate of recidivism directly related to | 15 | | their
untreated or inadequately treated mental health | 16 | | problems,
SUDs, or both; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, In 2013, a federal court entered an order | 18 | | facilitating a consent decree addressing issues related to the | 19 | | treatment of prisoners in the Illinois Department of | 20 | | Corrections who suffer from a serious mental illness and | 21 | | require monitoring; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, It is the intent of the General Assembly to create | 2 | | a
Commission to recommend legislation that would establish a | 3 | | diversion action plan to improve efforts to divert persons with
| 4 | | mental illness, substance use disorders, and intellectual | 5 | | disabilities to appropriate treatment or a diversion program as | 6 | | an alternative to
incarceration; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, It is the further intent of the General Assembly | 8 | | to reduce the prison population in the Illinois Department of | 9 | | Corrections by at least 25% by December 31, 2020, as a result | 10 | | of the diversion action plan; therefore, be it | 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 12 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 13 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Behavioral | 14 | | Health Prison Diversion
Commission; and be it further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That the Commission shall have 9 voting members
| 16 | | appointed as follows: | 17 | | (1) 2 members of the General Assembly appointed by the
| 18 | | President of the Senate, one of whom the President of the
| 19 | | Senate shall designate as co-chairperson; | 20 | | (2) 2 members of the General Assembly appointed by the
| 21 | | Speaker of the House, one of whom the Speaker of the House
| 22 | | shall designate as co-chairperson; | 23 | | (3) one member of the General Assembly appointed by the
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| 1 | | Minority Leader of the Senate; | 2 | | (4) one member of the General Assembly appointed by the
| 3 | | Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; | 4 | | (5) the Secretary of Human Services or his or her
| 5 | | designee; | 6 | | (6) the Director of Corrections or his or her designee;
| 7 | | and | 8 | | (7) a designee of the Office of the Governor; and be it | 9 | | further | 10 | | RESOLVED, That the co-chairpersons may appoint such other | 11 | | individuals
as they may deem helpful as non-voting members of | 12 | | the
Commission; that a vacancy on the Commission shall be | 13 | | filled in the same
manner as the original appointment; that the | 14 | | Department of Human Services shall provide
administrative | 15 | | support, together with meeting space, to assist
the Commission | 16 | | in fulfilling its mission; and that all appointments required | 17 | | by this Resolution shall be made
within 60 days of the adoption | 18 | | of this Resolution; and be it further | 19 | | RESOLVED, That the Commission shall conduct meetings, | 20 | | conference
calls, or both, as the co-chairpersons shall direct; | 21 | | that the Commission shall select from among its members a
| 22 | | Secretary; that a majority of the members of the Commission | 23 | | serving
constitutes a quorum for the transaction of the | 24 | | Commission's
business; that the Commission shall act by a |
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| 1 | | majority vote of its
serving members; and that the Commission | 2 | | shall meet at the call of the
Co-Chairpersons and as may be | 3 | | provided in rules adopted by the
Commission; and be it further | 4 | | RESOLVED, That the
Commission shall gather information, | 5 | | review
studies, and identify areas of best practice with | 6 | | respect to
how the criminal justice system should handle | 7 | | persons with
behavioral health disorders including mental | 8 | | illness, substance use disorders, and intellectual | 9 | | disabilities
who have committed a crime, and take other steps | 10 | | necessary to
make written findings and recommendations as | 11 | | required in
this Resolution;
and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That in carrying out its function, the | 13 | | Commission, may, as
appropriate, make inquiries, studies, | 14 | | investigations, hold
hearings, and receive comments from the | 15 | | public; that the Commission
may consult with outside experts in | 16 | | order to perform its
duties, including, but not limited to, | 17 | | experts in the private
sector, experts in forensic psychiatry, | 18 | | organized labor, government agencies, and at
institutions of | 19 | | higher education; and that members of the Commission shall | 20 | | serve without
compensation but may, subject to appropriation, | 21 | | receive
reimbursement for necessary travel and expenses;
and be | 22 | | it further | 23 | | RESOLVED, That the Commission shall make its report to the |
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| 1 | | General
Assembly on or before February 1, 2016; and that the | 2 | | report of the
Commission shall detail those findings and | 3 | | recommendations
supported by a majority of the voting members; | 4 | | and that the findings and recommendations shall include, but | 5 | | are
not limited to: | 6 | | (1) a diversion action plan to improve efforts to
| 7 | | divert persons with behavioral health disorders including | 8 | | mental illness, substance use disorders, and intellectual | 9 | | disabilities to appropriate treatment or diversion program | 10 | | as an
alternative to incarceration; | 11 | | (2) areas of best practice in this State and other
| 12 | | states to expand the use of effective pre-booking and
| 13 | | post-booking options for those with behavioral health | 14 | | disorders; and | 15 | | (3) a performance monitoring process to include
| 16 | | baseline and post-implementation data for prevalence of
| 17 | | persons with behavioral health disorders and intellectual | 18 | | disabilities in the State's criminal justice
system, | 19 | | outcomes, and return on investment;
and be it further | 20 | | RESOLVED, That in addition to the report, the Commission | 21 | | shall provide
to the General Assembly its recommendations in | 22 | | the form of
legislation; and that the Legislative Reference | 23 | | Bureau shall provide
drafting assistance to the Commission;
and | 24 | | be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That the Commission shall dissolve on February | 2 | | 15, 2016.
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