Rep. Greg Harris • 13th District
Springfield Update • January 21, 2021
IL Legislative Black Caucus Agenda
As I mentioned in my previous newsletter, the IL General Assembly worked last week through an historic lame duck session culminating in the election of our first African American Speaker of the House in the 203 year history of Illinois. No less historic was the passage of the first three pillars of the Black Lives Agenda developed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus.
These sweeping omnibus bills were refined over months of negotiations with stakeholders and make bold strides toward ending systemic racism, reducing economic disparities, and advancing equity in Illinois. I am proud to have stood with my colleagues in the Black Caucus to pass these bills focused on the policy pillars of criminal justice reform and police accountability, economic access and opportunity, and education and workforce development.
Criminal Justice Reform
The memories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Laquan McDonald, and so many more have become rallying cries to build a justice system that truly works for everyone. These are not isolated cases. In the past year, 995 Americans have been killed during routine interactions with police, with Black Americans being killed at more than double the rate for white Americans.
Meanwhile, mass incarceration continues to widen racial disparities. The data show that one in three Black men born today can expect to be incarcerated in his lifetime, compared to one in six Latino men and one in 17 white men. All too often outcomes in our criminal justice system are determined by ability to pay. A cash-based bail system means that poor defendants languish in jail regardless of the seriousness of their offense.
We all have a vested interest in rebuilding trust between police and the communities they serve. Rebuilding that trust begins with accountability. The criminal justice reform bill takes many important steps to restoring trust and promoting equity in our justice system. These measures include:
- Ending cash bail and replacing it with a more just system where custody decisions are based on nature of the crime with which a defendant is accused, rather than their access to cash.
- Empowering courts to set smarter sentences on a case-by-case basis, rather than relying on mandatory statutory sentences.
- Creating a more practical definition of when deadly force can be used, limiting such an extreme act to the most serious circumstances.
- Reforming crowd control and arrest techniques, including severely restricting the use of chokeholds.
- Closing the loopholes in law that have prevented criminal and civil accountability in the most severe cases of officer-involved killings.
- Instituting statewide certification and decertification system for police officers.
- Requiring the use of police body cameras.
- Preventing the destruction of law enforcement misconduct records.
- Banning police departments from acquiring certain military surplus equipment, including armored or weaponized vehicles, firearms or ammunition .50-caliber or higher, grenade launchers, or bayonets.
- Requiring police to develop a plan to protect children during search warrant raids.
- Empowering the Attorney General to investigate deaths that occur in police custody.
- Addressing officer wellness and provides for mental health awareness and screenings.
- Creating alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders based on a risk assessment.
- Eliminating license suspensions for unpaid red light camera and traffic offenses.
The full text of the criminal justice reform bill can be found HERE .
Economic Opportunity
At the root of the problems amplified by the pandemic and through the movement for criminal justice reform is the need for economic justice. This means ensuring fairness and the opportunity for every person to have a good job and a fair wage. The bills that make up the economic opportunity pillar advance crucial reforms to help families get ahead. Provisions include:
- Requiring corporations in Illinois to demonstrate their commitment to and compliance with equal pay laws and be punished when they discriminate against workers.
- Increasing opportunities for minority-owned businesses to receive state contracts.
- Capping payday loan interest rates to stop predatory lenders from taking advantage of people at their most desperate moment to trap them into a lifetime of debt.
- Extending support for local banks and financial institutions in historically underserved communities.
- Investing in minority-owned businesses, which in turn will create jobs in local communities.
- Banning employers from making hiring and firing decisions based on a person’s criminal records unless there has been a conviction related to the duties of the particular job.
The full text for each bill within the economic opportunity pillar can be found as follows:
Education Reform
Children in underserved Black and Latino communities have been left behind when it comes to education. Historic underinvestment in these schools and school districts leaves students without the resources needed to reach their full potential. This lack of equal access to education perpetuates inequity practically from birth.
The education reform package takes critical steps to begin addressing these disparities in Black and Brown communities while also pursuing anti-racist education statewide. This includes:
- Creating the Whole Child Taskforce for the purpose of establishing an equitable, inclusive, safe, and supportive environment in all schools for every student in this state.
- Ensuring the state’s education funding formula properly reflects the needs of students living in high-poverty areas.
- Providing schools with anti-racism initiatives to enhance educational performances of African American students and investing additional dollars in schools that pursue these efforts.
- Setting standards for computer science and literacy to close the technology gap between low-income districts and wealthy districts.
- Preparing students of all backgrounds to compete for college admission by directing state education agencies to compile a complete list of the coursework Illinois universities recommend a high student take to be admitted.
- Increasing the matching payment for state AIM HIGH grants.
- Expanding access to scholarships for minority teachers.
The full text of the education reform bill can be found HERE .
The pillars of this legislative agenda begin righting historic wrongs and expanding opportunity for people who have endured systemic racism. But the benefits of equity are not confined to any one community. Everyone benefits from safer communities, a more just and reparative criminal justice system, better access to a world-class education, and opportunities to participate in a thriving economy. There is a lot more work to be done, but this landmark package makes Illinois a leader in the ongoing effort to right historic wrongs and build just, thriving communities for all.
As always, I welcome your comments and questions. Please do not hesitate to email me at Greg@GregHarris.org or call 773-348-3434.