PERSON-CENTERED MENTAL HEALTH

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SJR0051

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SJR0051 - 104th General Assembly

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SJ0051
LRB104 19445 ECR 32893 r
1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

2

WHEREAS, Illinois has a strong track record of bipartisan
3
support for high-quality, evidence-based behavioral health
4
care as demonstrated by the codification of innovative
5
programs and by the State's many meaningful investments in
6
recovery services and supports; and

7

WHEREAS, According to the National Alliance on Mental
8
Illness (NAMI), more than one in five adults in the United
9
States experience mental illness each year, and more than one
10
in 20 adults experience serious mental illness each year;
11
according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
12
Administration (SAMHSA) data from 2024, nearly 17% of those
13
over the age of 12 had a substance use disorder in the
14
preceding year; and

15

WHEREAS, Having a mental illness or substance use disorder
16
can make it challenging to live everyday life and maintain
17
recovery, and these challenges extend beyond the individual
18
and impact families, communities, and the entire State of
19
Illinois; and

20

WHEREAS, President Trump issued an Executive Order on July
21
24, 2025, entitled "Ending Crime and Disorder on America's
22
Streets", that calls for shifting people experiencing

SJ0051
- 2 -
LRB104 19445 ECR 32893 r
1
homelessness, serious mental illness, and/or substance use
2
disorder into "long-term institutional settings" via
3
involuntary commitment; and

4

WHEREAS, The Executive Order also directs the United
5
States Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human
6
Services to work toward reversing Federal or State judicial
7
precedents and the determination of consent decrees that
8
protect the rights of Americans; and

9

WHEREAS, By the mid-20th century, it was widely
10
acknowledged that the institutional settings developed as the
11
primary treatment option for serious mental illness throughout
12
the 1800s had harmed patients and left many people trapped
13
with no alternatives for care; and

14

WHEREAS, The Community Mental Health Act of 1963
15
established community mental health centers across the United
16
States to provide community-based care as an alternative to
17
institutionalization so that patients could be treated while
18
working and living at home; and

19

WHEREAS, Illinois is subject to the Williams and Colbert
20
consent decrees due to violations of the Americans with
21
Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, and the State now
22
operates programs to facilitate the de-institutionalization of

SJ0051
- 3 -
LRB104 19445 ECR 32893 r
1
individuals from long-term care facilities who are able to
2
live in the community with the appropriate supports, including
3
those living with mental illness; and

4

WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly recognizes the
5
history of vulnerable populations being subject to unwarranted
6
involuntary commitment or other human rights violations and
7
that this may contribute to apprehension around engaging in
8
behavioral health services among individuals who have
9
historically been subjected to these practices; and

10

WHEREAS, Since the 1970s, psychiatric survivors and their
11
peers have worked tirelessly to empower people with behavioral
12
health conditions to center their experience in the
13
development of treatment programs and recovery supports and to
14
advocate for their rights; and

15

WHEREAS, The Illinois legislature has recognized and
16
reinforced that no recipient of mental health services shall
17
be deprived of any rights or privileges guaranteed by law, the
18
Constitution of the State of Illinois, or the Constitution of
19
the United States solely based on receiving these services;
20
such protected rights include recognition that Illinoisans
21
have a fundamental liberty to remain free from forced or
22
involuntary mental health treatment, and in cases where
23
involuntary treatment is applied, Illinoisans must be afforded

SJ0051
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LRB104 19445 ECR 32893 r
1
due process with strict adherence to legal safeguards; and

2

WHEREAS, Individuals living with behavioral health
3
conditions are disproportionately represented among those
4
experiencing homelessness due to a persistent lack of
5
affordable housing and a lack of access to treatment; and

6

WHEREAS, Individuals with behavioral health conditions may
7
have children; one in 18 children under the age of six has
8
experienced family homelessness each year in the United
9
States, and research shows that homelessness has a profound
10
impact on child health and developmental outcomes given the
11
unparalleled development that occurs in the early years of
12
life; and

13

WHEREAS, The General Assembly passed the Housing Is
14
Recovery Act in 2021, recognizing the foundational importance
15
of a safe, reliable place to call home to recovery; and

16

WHEREAS, Housing First is a framework that pairs housing
17
with services, centering the goals of individuals experiencing
18
homelessness by recognizing that securing a safe, stable place
19
to live is a basic need and is central to a person's ability to
20
engage in treatment; and

21

WHEREAS, Harm Reduction is an approach that focuses on the

SJ0051
- 5 -
LRB104 19445 ECR 32893 r
1
prevention of harm, rather than abstinence, and it is
2
inclusive of overdose prevention and reversal; this approach
3
also reduces the spread of communicable diseases while
4
increasing the speed of education, outreach, and linkage to
5
treatment; and

6

WHEREAS, Persons experiencing behavioral health conditions
7
are more likely to be the targets of violence than the
8
perpetrators due to their lack of shelter and their societal
9
marginalization; and

10

WHEREAS, Far too many people living with mental health and
11
substance use conditions become involved with the criminal
12
justice system due to a lack of access to effective treatment
13
and support services to address health-related social needs;
14
and

15

WHEREAS, The General Assembly passed the Community
16
Emergency Services and Supports Act (CESSA) in 2021, requiring
17
emergency response centers, such as 911, to refer callers
18
seeking behavioral health support to teams of mental health
19
professionals rather than police to provide a meaningful
20
connection to effective, community-based care for people
21
experiencing crisis; and

22

WHEREAS, Illinois has embraced the Certified Community

SJ0051
- 6 -
LRB104 19445 ECR 32893 r
1
Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) model to expand access to
2
comprehensive mental health and substance use treatment
3
throughout the State; and

4

WHEREAS, Illinois established a Chief Behavioral Health
5
Officer in 2022 to better coordinate State policies, programs,
6
and investments in our mental health and substance use
7
treatment system; and

8

WHEREAS, Recent federal executive orders, notices of
9
funding opportunity, and grant terms and conditions promote
10
both policies and practices that are inconsistent with
11
evidence-based approaches that have long been supported on a
12
bipartisan basis such as Housing First and Harm Reduction;
13
therefore, be it

14

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL
15
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF
16
REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we reaffirm our
17
steadfast commitment to promoting a person-centered,
18
community-based mental health and substance use treatment
19
system that is evidence-backed and recognizes each person's
20
dignity, humanity, and autonomy in determining the best course
21
of care in the least restrictive environment in compliance
22
with the Constitution and laws of the State of Illinois.

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