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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, For over four decades, the United States
3government has pursued a clear policy when deciding where to
4locate its major intelligence agencies by picking suburban and
5rural settings, usually on closely guarded military
6installations; and
 
7    WHEREAS, House Resolution 10 of the 99th General Assembly
8urged the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to relocate
9its new West Campus to St. Clair County at a site adjacent to
10Scott Air Force Base; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has
12recently made a decision to instead build its new $1.6 billion
13campus at a location in northern St. Louis; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The United States Army Corps of Engineers was
15tasked with creating a Final Environmental Impact Statement
16regarding proposed site locations for the new campus; the
17finished report contained significant errors concerning
18geographic locations and mission security protocols and risks,
19and neglected to take many factors into account, including the
20environmental conditions and former chemical weapons testing
21at the St. Louis site, the presence of Osage Nation burial
22grounds in the vicinity, and the impact of numerous federal

 

 

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1laws on the selection of the site; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Scott Air Force Base and the surrounding areas
3have won numerous quality of life awards from the United States
4Air Force and have received glowing reviews from the Air Force,
5the Defense Information Systems Agency, and other government
6agencies and contractors; the Scott Air Force Base area has
7also been rated highly for its wonderful educational
8opportunities through Southern Illinois University and
9highly-skilled workforce; and
 
10    WHEREAS, It has been estimated that it will cost at least
11$130 million to acquire and prepare the 99-acre site in
12northern St. Louis for the new campus; by comparison, the
13property in St. Clair County is shovel-ready and would only
14cost $5 million to acquire, a cost that St. Clair County would
15bear since it plans to give the entire 182-acre site free of
16charge to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The members of this body strongly believe that it
18would be in the best interests of the nation and of national
19security for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to
20reconsider its decision and to relocate its West Campus to the
21St. Clair County site; therefore, be it
 
22    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE

 

 

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1NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
2strongly urge the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to
3reconsider its decision to not relocate its West Campus to St.
4Clair County at a site adjacent to Scott Air Force Base; and be
5it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
7delivered to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the
8United States Army Corps of Engineers - Kansas City District,
9President Barack Obama, and the members of the Illinois
10congressional delegation.