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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
CALLING FOR THE CREATION OF A GUN VIOLENCE RESEARCH CONSORTIUM AS A PROJECT OF THE COOK COUNTY HEALTH AND HOSPITAL SYSTEM'S COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH UNIT
WHEREAS, every year the physicians of the Cook County Health and Hospital System's Stroger Hospital treat approximately 900 victims of gun violence; and
WHEREAS, the cost to Cook County taxpayers of treating victims of gun violence typically ranges between $35,000.00 and $50,000.00 per victim; and,
WHEREAS, Chicago and Cook County are presently engulfed in a gun violence crisis, with 1,823 people in Chicago shot in 2016 to date, and 312 people killed during this same time period; and
WHEREAS, gun violence in Chicago and Cook County has strained the resources of Cook County and stretched the limits of many of the institutions of Cook County government, including the Cook County Medical Examiner, Cook County Jail, the Cook County Circuit Court, and the Cook County Health and Hospitals System, among others; and
WHEREAS, numerous national, regional and local public policy experts have clearly identified gun violence as a public health issue; and,
WHEREAS, on June 14, 2016, the American Medical Association publicly proclaimed Gun Violence to be a "Public Health Crisis," and implored the United States Congress to lift its ban on research of gun violence by Centers for Disease Control (CDC); and
WHEREAS, on June 21, 2016, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Health and Hospitals System CEO, Dr. Jay Shannon, stood with other leaders and advocates and demanded that the gun violence epidemic in Chicago and Cook County be treated as a public health crisis; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Shannon stated that, as a health crisis, gun violence "has to be addressed with an equally complex, data-driven approach"; and
WHEREAS, Cook County Health and Hospitals System engages in multiple forms of research in order to expand and improve understanding of the disea...
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