SPECIAL LICENSE PLATE TO HELP FUND VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS By SECRETARY OF STATE GEORGE H. RYAN

Homicide — not accidents, not AIDS, not drowning — is the leading cause of death among young people between the ages of 15 and 24. Perhaps even worse, young people are more likely to be the perpetrators. In fact, kids under age 18 commit 14.5 percent of all murders and are arrested for 17.5 percent of all violent crimes.

We need to make our streets safe, but we cannot make them safe until we make our homes safe — because street violence is a function of behavior learned in the home.

We also need to fund programs that teach our children and young adults how to prevent violence — how to respond to conflict without brutality — how to interact without acting out.

To help reach these goals, the Secretary of State's office has joined with the Council for the Prevention of Violence to design a special license plate to raise funds.

The plate features a dove (a universal peace symbol) with a green olive branch in its beak and a background in gradations of blue to purple.

The office is accepting applications for the plates now. They will be available Jan. 1. Applicants pay an additional $40, with $25 deposited into the Illinois Violence Prevention Fund. There is an annual $27 surcharge to renew the plates.

The violence prevention plate is the second special plate of this type. The first, the environmental plate (with a bright red cardinal, the state bird, on it), has raised approximately $1.3 million for state parks since its inception in March 1994.

The violence prevention plate will serve as the key funding source to the Violence Prevention Authority, which will plan, coordinate and evaluate public health and public safety approaches to violence prevention. It also will fund statewide, community and collaborative efforts, including:
• Early childhood intervention programs (ages 0-5) designed to prevent violence and identify and serve children and families at risk,
• Implementation and evaluation of comprehensive Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade school-based violence prevention programs (such as conflict resolution training in schools for grades K-12),
• Community-based youth violence prevention programs (i.e., mentoring programs, after-school programs and job programs),
• Innovative, community policing and law enforcement approaches to violence prevention,
• Programs that integrate violence prevention initiatives with alcohol and substance abuse prevention efforts,
• Programs for battered women and abused children, and
• Programs for sexual assault victims.

This comprehensive approach to violence prevention is unique because Illinois is the first state to address the problem from a combined public health and public safety perspective.

It also is the first time Illinois has had a dedicated source of funding for violence prevention. Previously, the state put its resources at the "other end" by building more prisons. While these efforts cannot be abandoned, they have not been effective in preventing further violence.

Finally, leaders in violence prevention efforts from across the country are taking this idea back to their own states as a "cutting edge" example of a comprehensive response.

I believe our partnership in this program shows how we can work together to find innovative methods to address a very complex and disturbing trend.

There are no easy solutions to preventing violence, but we cannot shake our heads or allow ourselves to be desensitized. We have a responsibility to our children and our grandchildren to help stop the cycle of child abuse and the resulting violence on our streets. A future of peaceful co-existence is our goal.

Legislation creating the violence prevention plate (House Bill 1967) was sponsored by State Rep. Tom Ryder (R-Jerseyville). The bill passed the House and the Senate with no opposition.

Any vehicle owner wishing to apply for these special plates may write to the Secretary of State's office, Vehicle Services Department, Non-Standard Plates Section, 539 Hewlett Building, Springfield, IL 62756, or call 217/785-6901. •

January 1996 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 11