093_HJ0010

                                     LRB093 06757 HSS 06894 r

 1                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, Everyday,  children  are  abducted  from  places
 3    presumed  safe,  such  as  neighborhoods and bedrooms; when a
 4    child's life,  liberty,  or  innocence  is  taken,  it  is  a
 5    terrible  loss not just for the immediate family, but for the
 6    entire community; and

 7        WHEREAS, It is vitally  important  to  have  notification
 8    systems  in  place  that are effective and operational when a
 9    child is abducted; the AMBER alert system is one such system;
10    since the AMBER alert program began in the Dallas, Texas area
11    in 1996, AMBER has been credited with successfully recovering
12    33 children; and

13        WHEREAS,  Under  the  AMBER  alert   system,   when   law
14    enforcement  concludes  that  a  child  is missing, officials
15    immediately send alerts to radio and television stations with
16    descriptions of the missing children,  their  abductors,  and
17    other pertinent information; and

18        WHEREAS,  On  August  2,  2002,  two kidnapped California
19    teenagers were safely rescued as a result of the Amber  Alert
20    program; and

21        WHEREAS, September is a time when many children return to
22    school; therefore, be it

23        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
24    NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF  ILLINOIS,  THE
25    SENATE  CONCURRING HEREIN, that in order to enhance awareness
26    about existing child safety programs as well as  provide  the
27    focus  and  motivation  for  improving  child  protection, we
28    declare the week of September 1-7, 2003  to  be  AMBER  ALERT
29    Week.