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90_SR0209
SDS/90SR0009/gbp
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, our State and our nation have been horrified
3 over the violence in which our children are taking the lives
4 of our children; and
5 WHEREAS, Illinois has experienced this trauma; and
6 WHEREAS, A five year old was murdered in March 1998 by
7 his 14 year old and 9 year old foster brothers; and
8 WHEREAS, Two youths dropped another to his death in a
9 Chicago high-rise in 1995; and
10 WHEREAS, Violence to children by children has become a
11 disease in our society; and
12 WHEREAS, This disease has taken lives in large and small
13 communities such as Jonesboro, Arkansas; Paducah, Kentucky;
14 Pearl Mississippi; and Stamps, Arkansas, and
15 WHEREAS, The crimes committed by children against
16 children underscore the breakdown of support that children
17 received from family, schools, churches and community; and
18 WHEREAS, The rate of juvenile homicide is twice as common
19 in 1998 as it was in the mid 1980s; and
20 WHEREAS, A 1991 University of Alabama study of inner-city
21 kids under the age of 19, found that four in 10 had witnessed
22 a murder; and
23 WHEREAS, In 1995, a federal survey found that in the past
24 30 days, nearly eight percent of high school students had
25 carried a gun to school; and
26 WHEREAS, The Illinois Criminal Justic Information
27 Authority indicated that between 1983 and 1995, there has
28 been a 70 percent increase in the number of juveniles taken
29 into custody for violent offenses; and
-2- SDS/90SR0009/gbp
1 WHEREAS, Solutions to the increasing violence by children
2 have eluded us; therefore, be it
3 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
4 OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, That in order to reduce violent
5 juvenile crime, the Blue Ribbon Task Force to Save Our
6 Children is created and charged with examining violent
7 juvenile crime and the root causes that devastate our young
8 people and destroy their future; and be it further
9 RESOLVED, that the Task Force shall consist of 15 members
10 appointed as follows: the four legislative leaders shall
11 appoint one member each; the Attorney General shall appoint
12 one member who has a background in the causes of juvenile
13 violence; the Governor shall appoint 10 members as follows:
14 three classroom teachers, one from high school, one from
15 middle school, and one from elementary school; two child
16 psychologists; a youth law enforcement official; one person
17 each from the Department of Children and Family Services and
18 the Department of Public Health; a member of the Illinois
19 Violence Prevention Authority; and a member of the Juvenile
20 Justice Commission. Members shall serve without
21 compensation, but shall be reimbursed for reasonable and
22 necessary expenses. The member of the Juvenile Justice
23 Commission shall act as chairperson of the task force; and be
24 it further
25 RESOLVED, that the Blue Ribbon Task Force to Save Our
26 Children may draw on the resources of the Attorney General,
27 the Illinois State Police and the Criminal Justice Authority
28 and shall report its findings and proposals to the General
29 Assembly by January 2, 1999.