State of Illinois

Ninety-fourth General Assembly

House of Representatives

HOUSE RESOLUTION 1210

    WHEREAS, The adult female prison population in the State of Illinois more than quadrupled over the past 20 years to 2,725 at the end of 2005; and

    WHEREAS, The rate of growth of the women's prison population in Illinois has been twice that of men's since 1994; and

    WHEREAS, Of this population, less than 30% of these women were incarcerated for committing violent crimes; and

    WHEREAS, Cook County Jail currently houses about 1,300 women on any given day and, of this population, approximately 90% are charged with non-violent crimes; and

    WHEREAS, In prisons in the State of Illinois, 82% of women are mothers and almost 50% have children under five years of age; and

    WHEREAS, Each year at least 25,000 children in the State of Illinois are impacted by maternal incarceration; and

    WHEREAS, In the State of Illinois, at least 60,000 minor children will have their mothers spend time in a State prison while they are children; and

    WHEREAS, An estimated 80% of all incarcerated women in the State of Illinois suffer from substance abuse problems; however, the State of Illinois can place fewer than 20% of all incarcerated women into its substance abuse programs; and

    WHEREAS, It is a known fact that drug addiction causes crime, destroys the family structure, creates havoc in neighborhoods, and leaves paths of destruction in its wake; individuals convicted of crimes who have not received meaningful treatment while incarcerated continue to commit offenses; and

    WHEREAS, In the United States by the end of 2004, women were 9.4% percent of all prison and jail inmates, up from 6.1% in 1995; and

    WHEREAS, Community-based alternatives to incarceration for women convicted of non-violent offenses would allow children to stay with their mothers while their mothers receive appropriate treatment; with the appropriate treatment, the mothers would be less likely to commit additional offenses and would be able to re-enter society as tax-paying citizens; in addition, their children would be less likely to become the next generation of incarcerated individuals; therefore, be it

    RESOLVED, by the House of Representatives of the Ninety-Fourth General Assembly of the State of Illinois, that we recognize May 12, 2006, as Mothers in Prison, Children in Crisis Day in the State of Illinois. Crisis Day in the State of Illinois; and be it further

    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM).