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SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The United States economy is experiencing the
3worst recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s; and
 
4    WHEREAS, At 26%, 2011 was the worst summer teen (16 to 19)
5employment rate in post-World War II history, with black and
6Hispanic youth being the hardest-hit groups; and
 
7    WHEREAS, In the summer of 2011, more than 2 million
8low-income youth were out of work and on the streets; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In 2011, 73% of all teens in Illinois were
10jobless; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The jobless rate of teens in Illinois rose from
1250% in 2000 to 72% in 2011; black teen joblessness rose from
1379% in 2000 to 88% in 2011, while Latino teen joblessness rose
14from 60% to 70%; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In Chicago, black teen joblessness was at 90% in
162010, Latino teen joblessness was at 81%, and white teen
17joblessness was at 76%; and
 
18    WHEREAS, From 1964 until its end in 2000, a separate summer
19youth employment program for over 750,000 low-income youth was

 

 

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1in place; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Along with the short-term improvement in their
3earnings and income, teen employment has a variety of long-term
4benefits for youth; the more that teens work when they are 16
5and 17, the more likely they are to work when they are 18 to 21
6years old; teen employment also raises the average earnings of
7youth when they are 25 years old; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Teens who work are more likely to get trained by
9their employers via formal apprenticeship training; in
10addition, low-income youth who work more while attending high
11school, especially males, are less likely to drop out of high
12schools, and female teens who work more are less likely to get
13pregnant; and
 
14    WHEREAS, In 2009, the U.S. Congress and President Obama
15passed a $787 billion stimulus for the economy, including $1.2
16billion for summer youth employment that employed over 330,000
17jobless youth across the country; and
 
18    WHEREAS, There is a great need to continue the summer youth
19employment program during the summer of 2012, but there is no
20funding allocated for the program at this point; and
 
21    WHEREAS, In Congress, United States Representative George

 

 

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1Miller has introduced H.R. 3425 and United States Senator
2Richard Blumenthal has introduced S. 1861, both of which are
3known as the Pathways Back to Work Act of 2011; the Act would
4allocate $5 billion for summer and year-round employment,
5education, and training for disadvantaged youth and adults;
6this funding would allow teens and adults to earn money while
7they are producing meaningful work; these teens and adults
8would spend this money immediately, providing a direct economic
9stimulus to the U.S. economy; therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
11ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge President
12Barack Obama and Congress to pass the $5 billion Pathways Back
13to Work legislation as soon as possible to create an employment
14program throughout the year and with a particular emphasis on
15the summer for 500,000 youth and adults, by combining education
16and productive work in their neighborhoods; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
18presented to President Barack Obama and the members of the
19Illinois congressional delegation.