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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning is
3currently updating its GOTO2040 master plan as part of a
4federally-required mid-decade update; and
 
5    WHEREAS, A new initiative for first-class passenger rail
6service called Crossrail Chicago has emerged which would, for
7the first time, connect Metra route lines together, knitting
8together the Chicagoland region; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Metra currently runs 11 separate lines, each of
10which terminates in downtown Chicago; these lines do not travel
11through downtown Chicago, a route which would be far more
12efficient; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Northeast Illinois has long suffered from a
14jobs-housing mismatch, where tens of thousands of entry-level
15jobs in and around O'Hare airport and the northwest suburbs
16struggle to be filled, while tens of thousands of residents of
17the south side and south suburbs struggle to find employment;
18and
 
19    WHEREAS, Current public transportation between the south
20suburbs and the south side of Chicago and the northwest suburbs
21is a long, laborious journey involving transfers between buses

 

 

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1and rail, creating a greater barrier to full employment in the
2region; and
 
3    WHEREAS, This initiative is consistent with the long-term
4vision for northeastern Illinois set forth by the Chicago
5Metropolitan Agency for Planning; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Crossrail Chicago could connect Rockford, Elgin,
7Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, and O'Hare
8through Union Station to McCormick Place, Hyde Park, Homewood,
9University Park, the south suburban airport, Kankakee, and
10Champaign-Urbana in one electrified track; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The new electrified line of Crossrail Chicago
12would be located largely on publicly-owned rights-of-way and
13could bring tremendous economic benefits to the region and
14State; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Metra service along the Metro Electric Line from
16University Park to McCormick Place could be significantly
17improved through the Crossrail Chicago initiative; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Crossrail Chicago can also serve as the trunk of a
19Midwest high-speed rail network, which would bring millions of
20people together into one stronger economic unit; therefore, be
21it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3we urge the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning to include
4Crossrail Chicago in its list of fiscally unconstrained
5projects as consistent with the GOTO2040 vision, making the
6projects of Crossrail Chicago eligible for federal funds; and
7be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Department of
9Transportation, Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority, and the
10Chicago Department of Aviation to support the inclusion of
11Crossrail Chicago as part of GOTO2040's mid-decade update as a
12project on the fiscally unconstrained list as consistent with
13the long-term plans of those agencies; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
15delivered to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the
16Illinois Department of Transportation, Metra, the Chicago
17Transit Authority, and the Chicago Department of Aviation.