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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, President Barack Obama has transformed intercity
3 passenger rail policy by articulating a vision for high-speed
4 rail in the nation and putting real resources behind his
5 vision; and
 
6     WHEREAS, The Federal Railroad Administration has
7 designated corridors throughout the nation, including St.
8 Louis-Chicago, St. Paul-Chicago, Detroit-Chicago, and
9 Cleveland-Chicago as high-speed rail corridors eligible for
10 federal funding; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Two of the largest cities in the nation, Chicago
12 and New York City, are not currently contemplated to be linked
13 together in any high-speed rail corridor designations; and
 
14     WHEREAS, A Chicago-Cleveland and a Buffalo-New York City
15 corridor have both been designated as high-speed rail
16 corridors; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Cleveland and Buffalo are 190 miles apart; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Establishing a Cleveland-Buffalo corridor would
19 connect the two great cities of Chicago and New York City,
20 strengthening both high-speed rail networks immeasurably by

 

 

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1 granting access to the Midwest and East corridors to both
2 population centers; therefore, be it
 
3     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
4 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that in the spirit of
5 regional cooperation, we urge President Barack Obama, the
6 Secretary of United States Department of Transportation, Ray
7 LaHood, and the Administrator of the Federal Railroad
8 Administration, Joseph Szabo, to designate the
9 Cleveland-Buffalo corridor a high-speed rail corridor eligible
10 for federal funding in order to create a high-speed rail
11 corridor between Chicago and New York City; and be it further
 
12     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
13 delivered to President Obama, the Illinois congressional
14 delegation, the Secretary of the United States Department of
15 Transportation, and the Administrator of the Federal Railroad
16 Administration.