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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, On May 10, 1869, the "golden spike" was driven | ||||||
| 3 | into the final tie at Promontory Summit, Utah to join the | ||||||
| 4 | Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroads, ceremonially | ||||||
| 5 | completing the first transcontinental railroad and therefore | ||||||
| 6 | connecting both coasts of the United States; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Today, Illinois and Chicago are the railroad | ||||||
| 8 | capitals of the United States and Chicago Union Station is the | ||||||
| 9 | fourth busiest Amtrak station in the country, with almost 3 | ||||||
| 10 | million passengers annually; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Illinois was one of the first States to enter into | ||||||
| 12 | a partnership with Amtrak for the operation of a passenger | ||||||
| 13 | train, the daily Illinois Zephyr, which has served the | ||||||
| 14 | communities of Quincy, Macomb, Galesburg, Kewanee, Princeton, | ||||||
| 15 | Mendota, Plano, LaGrange, and Chicago, since November 4, 1971; | ||||||
| 16 | and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Illinois has continued to show its commitment to a | ||||||
| 18 | viable passenger rail network, providing support so residents | ||||||
| 19 | and visitors have Amtrak trains to and from metro areas, | ||||||
| 20 | mid-sized cities, and small towns, helping to reduce congestion | ||||||
| 21 | on roads and in the skies; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, For many rural Americans, Amtrak represents the | ||||||
| 2 | only major intercity transportation link to the rest of the | ||||||
| 3 | country; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Passenger rail provides a more fuel-efficient | ||||||
| 5 | transportation system, thereby providing cleaner | ||||||
| 6 | transportation alternatives and energy security; when combined | ||||||
| 7 | with all modes of transportation, passenger railroads emit only | ||||||
| 8 | 0.2 percent of the travel industry's total greenhouse gases; | ||||||
| 9 | and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Amtrak annually provides intercity passenger rail | ||||||
| 11 | travel to over 25 million Americans residing in 46 states; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, An increasing number of people are using trains | ||||||
| 13 | for travel purposes beyond commuting to and from work; in the | ||||||
| 14 | State of Illinois, 3,888,577 people made use of Amtrak trains | ||||||
| 15 | in 2007; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Rail passenger service in the State of Illinois is | ||||||
| 17 | a source of pride, a gateway for many into our State, and a | ||||||
| 18 | tool for economic growth; therefore, be it
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| 19 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 20 | NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 21 | the State of Illinois endorses National Train Day on May 10, | ||||||
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| 1 | 2008.
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