SR0388 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0388 LRB095 13965 DRH 39777 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Ridership on Amtrak is increasing rapidly throughout the United States and at Chicago's Union Station; and

WHEREAS, Chicago's Union Station is the hub of Amtrak's nationwide network; and

WHEREAS, Chicago's Union Station currently serves over three million Amtrak passengers and over 30 million Metra passengers annually; and

WHEREAS, The entire facility was redesigned in 1989 in a way that forces all passengers into waiting rooms that do not have adequate capacity and leaves the Great Hall largely empty; and

WHEREAS, The passenger waiting facilities are overcrowded, creating an uncomfortable experience for passengers; and

WHEREAS, The ticket counters are poorly placed and often overcrowded, with no room for expansion; and

WHEREAS, The Great Hall is an architectural gem with marble floors and walls, long Corinthian columns, and a 112 foot tall vaulted skylight; and

WHEREAS, The Great Hall is best used as a passenger waiting facility, as originally designed; and

WHEREAS, The current owner of Chicago's Union Station, Chicago Union Station Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Railroad Passenger Company (Amtrak), is engaged in the beginning stages of a redevelopment of the station; and

WHEREAS, There remains a risk that the Great Hall might be converted to retail space in a manner that renders it unusable for train passengers; and

WHEREAS, Current redevelopment plans call for construction of a new passenger waiting facility, at substantial cost for which no funding exists; and

WHEREAS, An ideal passenger waiting facility already exists in the Great Hall; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we call on Amtrak to retain the Great Hall as a passenger waiting and ticketing area, so Chicago Union Station will serve as an attractive, convenient hub for a growing and dynamic nationwide passenger train service network.