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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
NOTHING BUILDS A FUTURE LIKE A JOB: CALLING A COOK COUNTY AND CITY OF CHICAGO JOINT PUBLIC HEARING TO DISCUSS YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AND SUMMER JOBS PROGRAMS
WHEREAS, each summer violent crime increases to the highest levels of the year; and,
WHEREAS, out-of-school and out-of-work youth are most at risk to be affected by this increase in violence; and,
WHEREAS, early work experiences provide valuable opportunities for young people to learn new skills, gain experience, expand their networks, help support themselves and their families and develop positive relationships with adults; and,
WHEREAS, a joint County-City public hearing will be called on May 16, 2017 to focus on summer 2017 youth employment and job training programs to stem the violence this summer; and,
WHEREAS, the joint public hearing will include testimonies from young people, workforce advocates including the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, Thrive Chicago, Alternative Schools Network, National Youth Advocate Program, Chicago Urban League, the Emerson Collective, the Chicago Department of Family & Support Services and more to share best practices and offer alternatives for gaps in summer 2017 opportunities; and,
WHEREAS, on March 22, 2016, the Cook County Board of Commissioners Workforce, Housing and Community Development Committee held a public hearing on report findings from A Lost Generation: The Disappearance of Teens and Young Adults from the Job Market in Cook County, commissioned by the Alternative Schools Network and developed by the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute; and,
WHEREAS, numerous statistics about local County and City youth were cited in the report; and,
WHEREAS, according to report, despite a growing national economic recovery, youth employment (16-24) is still at 27% nationwide; and,
WHEREAS, Cook County has the highest percent of the population ages 16 to 19 that were out of school and out of work in 2014 with 8.5 percent compared to all other major U.S. cities; and,
WHEREAS, 47% of Black men (20-24) and 20% of Hispanic men are jobless and out of school in Chicago; and,
WHEREAS, the situation is even worse for Chicago’s Black and Hispanic teens (16-19) with 88% of Blacks and 85% of Hispanic youth, compared to 71% nationwide; and,
WHEREAS, jobless rates for youth (20-24) are highest on the South and West Sides of the City of Chicago; and,
WHEREAS, joblessness leads to poverty, drug abuse, homelessness and violence in our communities; and,
WHEREAS, the persistence and severity of these conditions have ramifications for our young people and generations to come, and;
WHEREAS, an updated and expanded version of the report, A Lost Generation: The Disappearance of Teens and Young Adults from the Job Market in Cook County, developed by the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute, will be presented at a joint public hearing on May 16, 2017 to the Cook County Workforce, Housing and Community Development Committee and the City of Chicago Committee on Workforce Development and Audit; and,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Cook County Workforce, Housing and Community Development Committee jointly with the City of Chicago Committee on Workforce Development and Audit shall hold a hearing to discuss the findings of the latest UIC Great Cities Institute report and hear from organizations on best practices to resolve the youth unemployment crisis; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Cook County Board of Commissioners requests that the CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership attend the hearing to provide an update on available programming and services for Cook County youth.end