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92_HR0122
LRB9208261TAtm
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The alarming rate of homelessness among mentally
3 ill persons in the State of Illinois is a great cause for
4 concern and requires action by the Illinois Housing
5 Development Authority; and
6 WHEREAS, it has been estimated that 20% to 25% of
7 homeless people in the United States suffer from some form of
8 serious mental illness, and, in the Chicago area, certain
9 areas report that as much as 65% of their homeless population
10 suffers from mental illness; the Chicago Department of Human
11 Services determined that from October 1998 through November
12 1999 there were 15,774 homeless persons in the City of
13 Chicago alone, or at least 3,155 mentally ill homeless
14 persons using the national average rate; for fiscal year
15 2000, the Illinois Department of Human Services reported at
16 least 2,993 homeless mentally ill persons in Chicago and at
17 least 5,960 in Illinois; and
18 WHEREAS, The hardship to mentally ill persons and the
19 likelihood of imminent harm and death to mentally ill persons
20 is greatly exacerbated by the combination of their mental
21 illness and homelessness; and
22 WHEREAS, Section 7.24h of the Illinois Housing
23 Development Act (20 ILCS 3805/7.24h), enacted in 1989,
24 authorized the Illinois Housing Development Authority to
25 extend loans or grants to finance housing for mentally ill
26 homeless persons, and required the Illinois Housing
27 Development Authority to develop a plan for making certain
28 housing units available to the homeless mentally ill; and
29 WHEREAS, To date, this plan on behalf of the homeless
30 mentally ill has never been developed; and
31 WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives are
-2- LRB9208261TAtm
1 concerned that measures to alleviate the suffering of these
2 citizens of the State of Illinois be undertaken; therefore,
3 be it
4 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
5 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
6 we urge the Illinois Housing Development Authority to fulfill
7 its statutory mandate and develop the plan for housing for
8 the homeless mentally ill as required under Section 7.24h of
9 the Illinois Housing Development Act (20 ILCS 3805/7.24h);
10 and be it further
11 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12 delivered to the Governor of the State of Illinois and to the
13 Executive Director of the Illinois Housing Development
14 Authority.
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