HR0207 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0207 LRB102 18065 MST 25055 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, In 2019, the General Assembly and the Governor worked together to enact Rebuild Illinois, the largest capital construction program in Illinois history; and

WHEREAS, Rebuild Illinois is a $45 billion, six-year, comprehensive, and equitable capital program designed to tackle Illinois' crumbling infrastructure by providing responsible funding for roads, bridges, public transit systems, clean water infrastructure, rural broadband, and public schools; and

WHEREAS, The Rebuild Illinois capital construction program provides sustainable, responsible, and constitutionally protected funding to rebuild Illinois' infrastructure and create over 500,000 prevailing wage jobs without causing further strain on our state's budget; and

WHEREAS, Rebuild Illinois created Illinois Works, a first of its kind holistic approach to increasing minority participation in the building and construction trades, to ensure that the jobs and opportunities created under Rebuild Illinois are available to every citizen in Illinois regardless of their race, gender, or zip code; and

WHEREAS, The Covid-19 pandemic has financially decimated Illinois' economy, and transportation user fees have dropped more than $300 million dollars in 2020 due to the necessary restrictions on travel and stay-at-home orders; and

WHEREAS, The projected revenue sources for the vertical construction program of Rebuild Illinois have dropped over 40 percent due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting stay-at-home orders; and

WHEREAS, Every dollar invested in infrastructure spending returns $1.57 to local economies, and failure to invest in infrastructure will further harm the local economies and prolong the State's recovery; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress has passed the American Rescue Plan that will provide over $13 billion dollars in economic relief to address the needs of families, businesses, local governments, and schools that have been impacted by COVID-19 and the resulting economic crisis; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the members of the General Assembly and the Governor's Administration are urged to invest our transportation and infrastructure dollars as promised under Rebuild Illinois to make good on our collective commitment to fix our roads, bridges, and schools while creating jobs and opportunities for all residents of Illinois.