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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Language barriers continue to exist for many
3Illinois residents who are limited English proficient, known as
4"LEP"; these barriers limit their ability to fully participate
5in civic life and maximize their economic productivity; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Such language barriers for LEP residents create
7very real challenges when trying to access information about
8available government services or an individual's legal rights
9or obligations under State and local laws; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act requires program
11recipients of federal funds, such as certain State agencies, to
12take reasonable steps to insure that LEP persons have
13meaningful access to their programs and activities; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Nearly 10% of Illinois' population is LEP, giving
15Illinois the 5th largest LEP population in the United States at
16over 1.1 million residents; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Illinois' immigrant communities have rapidly
18grown and now one in every five Illinois residents is an
19immigrant; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Illinois is proud of being one of the most

 

 

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1immigrant-friendly states in the nation; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The public safety, health, economic prosperity,
3and general welfare of all Illinois residents is furthered by
4increasing language access to State programs and services; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The Governor's Office of New Americans
6Interagency Task Force, which met from 2006 to 2008,
7recommended that Illinois commit to providing meaningful
8access to State services for the LEP population to encourage
9and accelerate immigrant and refugee integration; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Despite admirable efforts by certain State
11agencies, much work remains to provide meaningful access; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Other immigrant-friendly states and cities have
13attempted to address this issue by implementing language access
14laws or ordinances that require a base-line level of language
15access to government services and information for LEP
16individuals; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly is committed to
18exploring legislative solutions to improve language access for
19LEP residents by researching lessons learned and best practices
20from these other parts of the country; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
3SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Task Force on Language
4Access to Government Services is created to:
5        (1) review existing language access laws or ordinances
6in other parts of the country, including existing reports or
7academic publications on such laws or ordinances;
8        (2) evaluate their effectiveness in eliminating
9language barriers for LEP communities;
10        (3) consider any other available and relevant
11information on language access issues in Illinois, including
12Census data, community feedback, or surveys
13        (4) identify and recommend specific best-practices and
14provisions for a State language access law; and
15        (5) produce a final report summarizing the task force's
16findings and detailing its specific recommendations for a State
17language access law and highlight any areas of major
18disagreement within the task force; and be it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall consist of the
20following members, who shall serve without compensation:
21        (1) one member of the Senate appointed by the President
22of the Senate;
23        (2) one member of the Senate appointed by the Minority
24Leader of the Senate;
25        (3) one member of the House of Representatives

 

 

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1appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
2        (4) one member of the House of Representatives
3appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
4Representatives;
5        (5) one member appointed by the Governor as a
6representative of his office;
7        (6) one member appointed by the Attorney General as a
8representative of her office;
9        (7) one member appointed by the Secretary of State as a
10representative of his office;
11        (8) one member appointed by the Secretary of the
12Illinois Department of Human Services as a representative of
13her office;
14        (9) five members appointed by the Governor, upon
15recommendation of an non-profit organization that promotes
16civic engagement and advocates on behalf of immigrant
17communities through a coalition of member organizations that
18serve Latino, Asian, African, Arab, and European immigrants;
19and
20        (10) five members appointed by the Governor, upon
21recommendation of an non-profit organization that promotes
22civic engagement among Asian American communities and
23advocates on behalf of Asian American communities through its
24Pan-Asian coalition; and be it further
 
25    RESOLVED, That the members of the Task Force shall be

 

 

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1appointed within 30 days after the adoption of this resolution
2and shall begin meeting no later than 30 days after the
3appointments are finalized; in the event that any appointments
4are not made within 30 days after the adoption of this
5resolution, the Secretary of Human Services shall make such
6appointments within 15 days after the appointment deadline; and
7be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That the members of the Task Force shall elect a
9chairperson from among their membership and that the Department
10of Human Services shall provide administrative support; and be
11it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall hold its first meeting
13by September 1, 2013; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall submit its final report
15to the Illinois General Assembly, the Governor, and the
16Attorney General no later than July 1, 2014.