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03-26-12 Common Council Meeting Minutes
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03-26-12 Common Council Meeting Minutes
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REGULAR MEETING MARCH 26, 2012 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />from jury’s; and are a part of a social stigma; they are confined to the margins of Main <br />Street society and denied access to the Main Street economy. They are legally denied the <br />ability to obtain employment because of the acts that they committed, housing and public <br />benefits, much as Aftrican-Americans were once forced into segregated second class <br />citizenship in the Jim Crow era. In less than 30 years the U.S. Penal System population <br />exploding from around 300,000 to more than 2 million with drug convictions (non- <br />violent offenders) accounting for the majority of the increase. The United States now has <br />the highest rate of incarceration in the world, nearly every developed country, even <br />surpassing those in highly repression regimes like Russian, China and Iran. He stated <br />that 93 people are in prison for every 1,000 adults and children. In the United States the <br />rate is roughly eight times that or 750 per 100,000. Today, due to recent decline, U.S. <br />Crime Rates have dipped below international norm. Nevertheless, the United States is 6 <br />to 10 times greater in incarceration than that of any industrialized nation. A development <br />directly traceable to the drug war, non-violent offense again. The only country in a world <br />that even comes close to America’s way of incarceration is Russia. No other country in <br />the world incarcerates in such a high percentage of ethnic racial minority. He stated that <br />when people are released from Illinois prisons they are given as little as $10 (gate money) <br />a bus ticket to anywhere in the United States of America most returned to impoverished <br />neighborhoods in the Chicago area bringing very few resources and bearing the stigma of <br />a prison record. In Chicago as in most cities across the country ex-offenders are banned <br />are severally restricted from employment and in large numbers of professions, job <br />categories, licensing, statutes, rules potentially discriminating against the individuals with <br />felony records. According to a study conducted by DePauw University in 2002 in the 98 <br />occupations requiring licenses in Illinois 57 place stipulations or restrictions on <br />applications with a criminal record. Even when not being barred from certain jobs and <br />employment ex-offenders find it extra-ordinarily difficult to find employers who will hire <br />them. Regardless of the nature of their conviction, they are routinely denied public <br />housing, welfare benefits, and is increasingly difficult to obtain education, especially now <br />that the funding for public education has been hard hit to the exploding prison budgets. <br />Young black men are more likely to go to prison than college. As of June 2002, there <br />were nearly 20,000 more black men in the Illinois State Prison system than enrolled in <br />state public universities. This is called all legalized discrimination, we grapple about <br />GLBT issues, and grapple about all these other issues, but in South Bend, Indiana, St. <br />Joseph County, Elkhart County as well have been hit very hard with the re-entry of those <br />who are coming back home who are looking for jobs, employment opportunities, housing <br />and all the other things that we kind of overlook. He stated that he has some people in <br />the audience tonight who came out tonight in solidarity for this issue. He stated that he is <br />bringing this issue to everyone’s attention because it affects us greatly. <br /> <br />Councilmember Henry Davis stated that the bill needs to be amended to include ex- <br />felons. He stated that after they are released back into society they are discriminated <br />against when they apply for employment, housing and education. Councilmember Henry <br />Davis made a motion to add ex-offenders to the ordinance. Councilmember Dieter <br />seconded the motion. The motion was defeated. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dr. Fred Ferlic stated that he thinks this motion is ill advised. He stated <br />that there are many multi-cultural problems in this nation. He stated that this issue should <br />not be mixed in together with the bill that is before the Council tonight. <br /> <br />Councilmember White stated that she has had one discussion with Mr. Lonnie Douglas <br />from the Human Rights Commission on the motion that Councilmember Henry Davis, Jr. <br />has made. She stated that she believes that there is some movement from the State to <br />address this issue. She stated that she would like to have the opportunity to come back to <br />the Council to address this issue. She stated that she did not know the status of the <br />movement and believes that it is a very important issue. <br /> <br />Councilmember Ferlic thanked Councilmember Henry Davis for bringing this issue to <br />light. He stated that he concurs with Councilmember White that the Council should work <br />collectively with Mr. Douglas from the Human Rights Commission but does not believe <br />tonight is the time to do this. <br /> <br /> 30 <br /> <br />
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