HR0707 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0707 LRB099 13873 GRL 37931 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Illinois' economy depends on a robust and efficient transportation network; and

WHEREAS, The sheer size of our State, with automobile travel from the south to the north taking as much as 6 hours, leaves our cities and regions relatively disconnected from each other, slowing our economic growth; and

WHEREAS, One major transportation project can unite the entire State's economy, linking together business centers and generating efficiencies and economic growth; and

WHEREAS, An Illinois Department of Transportation study completed by the University of Illinois at Chicago found that an O'Hare-Union Station-Champaign-Springfield-St. Louis with a Champaign-Indianapolis branch high speed rail line would generate an operating surplus that would require no annual subsidy; and

WHEREAS, The next steps in the planning process for a statewide high speed rail line are an investment grade ridership analysis to allow potential private financing entities to assess the suitability of the high speed rail line for investment, as well as a clear Alternative Analysis that considers other potential routes to connect O'Hare, downtown Chicago, and the central and southern parts of the State, including but not limited to an upgrade to 220 mile per hour service of the existing Amtrak service between Chicago Union Station, Joliet Union Station, Normal, Springfield, Alton, and St. Louis; and

WHEREAS, The extension of the Metra Electric line south from University Park through Will County to Kankakee has long been a transportation objective for the south suburbs; this high speed rail line would serve that market, bringing Kankakee County, Will County, and southern Cook County modern transportation access to Chicago and the southern part of the State; and

WHEREAS, The State-owned land for the planned South Suburban Airport becomes far more valuable if a high speed train station is built on that site and was incorporated with any future airport to be developed there, leveraging the State's existing investment in the South Suburban Airport; and

WHEREAS, Prior to the development of viable high speed rail connections, there are other infrastructure investments in the South Cook, Will County, and Kankakee County regions that would create a new transportation network and spur economic growth; nearly a million people live in South Cook, Will County, and Kankakee County; the South East Service Line, the Illiana Expressway, and the South Suburban Airport are important transportation adjuncts which would highlight multi-modal investments and increase the viability for Chicago's Southland; and

WHEREAS, The convention business is a major industry for Illinois' economy; any way that could improve the attractiveness of our convention spaces like McCormick Place to major shows is a key component to Illinois' prosperity; and

WHEREAS, Connecting McCormick Place, the continent's largest exhibition venue, directly to O'Hare International Airport, the nation's busiest airport, significantly enhances the attractiveness of Chicago to trade shows, as it allows visitors to avoid the chronically congested Kennedy Expressway with a direct train ride to the existing Metra station in McCormick Place; and

WHEREAS, O'Hare International Airport to downtown Chicago would serve as the key anchor in a statewide high speed rail line; and

WHEREAS, Finding a way to connect the business traveler nodes of Aurora and Naperville with the high speed rail line to feed the network with the residents and business travelers around the I-88 corridor would be extremely helpful to creating a financially viable high speed line; and

WHEREAS, While there may not be any obvious right-of-way available since the Canadian National acquisition of the EJ&E line in the western suburbs, perhaps there may be right-of-way owned by utilities that could be used to connect the western suburbs with the high speed rail line and this should be studied and considered as part of any statewide high speed rail line; and

WHEREAS, Supporting and building new technology companies is a key goal for creating more Illinois jobs; one of the world's greatest centers for cutting-edge research in technology and software is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, but Illinois has lost thousands of graduates to other states, which have created new technology companies worth tens of billions of dollars; and

WHEREAS, Connecting the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to downtown Chicago via a 50 minute high-speed train ride is the best way to integrate the financial and business capital of Chicago with the intellectual and technological capital of Urbana-Champaign to support and create new billion-dollar technology businesses in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Three Fortune 500 companies are in Downstate Illinois, Archer Daniels Midland in Decatur, Caterpillar, Inc. in Peoria, and State Farm Insurance Companies in Bloomington; providing a world-class high speed rail line from O'Hare to downstate Illinois with an eventual connecting train service to other communities would significantly improve the entire State's business climate, particularly for high-level corporate executives who require convenient access to international flights; and

WHEREAS, Placing the St. Louis-area terminus at the East St. Louis Metrolink station would not only save a billion dollars by avoiding the need to build a new bridge over the Mississippi River, as passengers could simply take the existing Metrolink from East St. Louis into Missouri, it would also serve as a game-changer for East St. Louis, one of the State's most economically challenged communities; and

WHEREAS, Several nations have sent trade delegations to Illinois expressing sincere interest in exporting their high speed train systems to our State; several nations have also offered to help finance a portion of the capital construction costs, including France, China, and Japan; and

WHEREAS, To date, Illinois has been unable to take advantage of the interest from other nations in partially financing and constructing a high speed rail line, mainly due to a lack of planning; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we rescind the requests and statements made in House Resolution 548 of the 99th General Assembly and urge the Governor, the Illinois Department of Transportation, the City of Chicago, and the members of the Illinois congressional delegation to accept in its place the statements and requests contained herein; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge Governor Rauner and the Illinois Department of Transportation to build upon the work of the 2013 high speed rail report and immediately task their existing consultants to prepare an investment-grade ridership analysis for distribution to interested parties around the world; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge Governor Rauner and the Illinois Department of Transportation to seek federal planning funds to help pay for this study and to consider all potential alternatives for a true high speed rail line that would complement all existing Amtrak services; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge all State agencies to provide any and all assistance to the City of Chicago in implementing this crucial transportation project; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we commend Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for his commitment to building high speed train service between O'Hare International Airport and downtown Chicago and urge all State agencies to provide any and all assistance to the City of Chicago in implementing this crucial transportation project; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we commend the Mayors and Village Presidents, Council of Governments, Chambers of Commerce, and south suburban legislators for their planning and foresight with projects like the proposed SouthEast Service Line and their commitment to high speed rail as a necessary part of their regional development plan; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call upon Congress to return to their previous practice in Fiscal Year 2010 of appropriating $2.5 billion in the annual federal budget for capital grants to states for high speed rail projects in order to help fund this high speed rail project; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Governor, the Illinois Secretary of Transportation, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and the members of the Illinois congressional delegation.