093_HR0357
LRB093 12037 KEF 16702 r
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Crucial gaps exist in the country's ability to
3 counter a biological threat; the National Institutes of
4 Health have identified a serious shortage of high-level
5 biocontainment laboratories in the United States; there are
6 no such facilities in the Midwest at this time; and
7 WHEREAS, The University of Illinois at Chicago seeks to
8 establish a National Biocontainment Laboratory in Chicago as
9 a key component in the Nation's biodefense infrastructure;
10 the UIC National Center for Biodefense and Emerging
11 Infectious Diseases, a $200 million, 309,000 square foot
12 state-of-the-art biocontainment laboratory, will be located
13 within the Illinois Medical District on the UIC campus, and
14 will be a critical resource for the City, the State, the
15 Midwest, and the Nation to defend against and respond to acts
16 of bioterrorism; and
17 WHEREAS, The University of Illinois at Chicago submitted
18 an application to the National Institutes of Health to fund
19 the construction of the National Biocontainment Laboratory on
20 February 10, 2003; therefore, be it
21 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
22 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
23 we support the University of Illinois at Chicago's
24 application to the National Institutes of Health for a
25 National Biocontainment Laboratory, to be located within the
26 Illinois Medical District, in the City of Chicago; and be it
27 further
28 RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be presented to
29 each member of the Illinois congressional delegation; and be
30 it further
31 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
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1 presented to the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the
2 University of Illinois, Lawrence C. Eppley, to the President
3 of the University of Illinois, James J. Stukel, and to the
4 Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Sylvia
5 Manning.