Full Text of SR0616 99th General Assembly
SR0616 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Illinois' economy depends on a robust and | 3 | | efficient transportation network; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The sheer size of our State, with automobile | 5 | | travel from the south to the north taking as much as 6 hours, | 6 | | leaves our cities and regions relatively disconnected from each | 7 | | other, slowing our economic growth; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, One major transportation project can unite the | 9 | | entire State's economy, linking together business centers and | 10 | | generating efficiencies and economic growth; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, An Illinois Department of Transportation study | 12 | | completed by the University of Illinois found that an | 13 | | O'Hare-Union Station-Champaign-Springfield-St. Louis with a | 14 | | Champaign-Indianapolis branch high speed rail line would | 15 | | generate an operating surplus that would require no annual | 16 | | subsidy; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The next steps in the planning process for a | 18 | | statewide high speed rail line are an investment grade | 19 | | ridership analysis to allow potential private financing | 20 | | entities to assess the suitability of the high speed rail line | 21 | | for investment and a Tier One Environmental Impact Statement to |
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| 1 | | qualify the project for federal funds; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, The extension of the Metra Electric line south | 3 | | from University Park through Will County to Kankakee has long | 4 | | been a transportation objective for the south suburbs; this | 5 | | high speed rail line would serve that market, bringing Kankakee | 6 | | County, Will County, and southern Cook County modern | 7 | | transportation access to Chicago and the southern part of the | 8 | | State; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The State-owned land for the planned South | 10 | | Suburban Airport becomes far more valuable if a high speed | 11 | | train station is built on that site and was incorporated with | 12 | | any future airport to be developed there, leveraging the | 13 | | State's existing investment in the South Suburban Airport; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, The convention business is a major industry for | 15 | | Illinois' economy; any way that could improve the | 16 | | attractiveness of our convention spaces like McCormick Place to | 17 | | major shows is a key component to Illinois' prosperity; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Connecting McCormick Place, the continent's | 19 | | largest exhibition venue, directly to O'Hare International | 20 | | Airport, the nation's busiest airport, significantly enhances | 21 | | the attractiveness of Chicago to trade shows, as it allows | 22 | | visitors to avoid the chronically congested Kennedy Expressway |
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| 1 | | with a direct train ride to the existing Metra station in | 2 | | McCormick Place; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has recently stated his | 4 | | interest in developing high speed rail from O'Hare to downtown | 5 | | Chicago and has tasked new Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans | 6 | | with advancing that vision, which would serve as the key anchor | 7 | | in a statewide high speed rail line; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Supporting and building new technology companies | 9 | | is a key goal for creating more Illinois jobs; one of the | 10 | | world's greatest centers for cutting-edge research in | 11 | | technology and software is the University of Illinois at | 12 | | Urbana-Champaign, but Illinois has lost thousands of graduates | 13 | | to other states, which have created new technology companies | 14 | | worth tens of billions of dollars; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Connecting the University of Illinois at | 16 | | Urbana-Champaign to downtown Chicago via a 50 minute high-speed | 17 | | train ride is the best way to integrate the financial and | 18 | | business capital of Chicago with the intellectual and | 19 | | technological capital of Urbana-Champaign to support and | 20 | | create new billion-dollar technology businesses in Illinois; | 21 | | and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Three Fortune 500 companies are in Downstate |
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| 1 | | Illinois, Archer Daniels Midland in Decatur, Caterpillar, Inc. | 2 | | in Peoria, and State Farm Insurance Companies in Bloomington; | 3 | | providing a world-class high speed rail line from O'Hare to | 4 | | downstate Illinois with an eventual connecting train service to | 5 | | other communities would significantly improve the entire | 6 | | State's business climate, particularly for high-level | 7 | | corporate executives who require convenient access to | 8 | | international flights; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Placing the St. Louis-area terminus at the East | 10 | | St. Louis Metrolink station would not only save a billion | 11 | | dollars by avoiding the need to build a new bridge over the | 12 | | Mississippi River, as passengers could simply take the existing | 13 | | Metrolink from East St. Louis into Missouri, it would also | 14 | | serve as a game-changer for East St. Louis, stimulating | 15 | | economic development, jobs, and a sustainable tax base for one | 16 | | of the State's most challenged communities; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Several nations have sent trade delegations to | 18 | | Illinois expressing sincere interest in exporting their high | 19 | | speed train systems to our State; several nations have also | 20 | | offered to help finance a portion of the capital construction | 21 | | costs, including France, China, and Japan; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, To date, Illinois has been unable to take | 23 | | advantage of the interest from other nations in partially |
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| 1 | | financing and constructing a high speed rail line, mainly due | 2 | | to a lack of planning; therefore, be it
| 3 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 4 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge Governor Rauner | 5 | | and the Illinois Department of Transportation to build upon the | 6 | | work of the 2013 high speed rail report and immediately task | 7 | | their existing consultants to prepare an investment-grade | 8 | | ridership analysis for distribution to interested parties | 9 | | around the world; and be it further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That we urge Governor Rauner and the Illinois | 11 | | Department of Transportation to concurrently task their | 12 | | existing consultants to prepare as expeditiously as possible | 13 | | the Tier One Environmental Impact Statement to qualify the high | 14 | | speed rail project for federal funds and to seek federal | 15 | | planning funds to help pay for this study; and be it further | 16 | | RESOLVED, That we commend Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for | 17 | | his commitment to building high speed train service between | 18 | | O'Hare International Airport and downtown Chicago and urge all | 19 | | State agencies to provide any and all assistance to the City of | 20 | | Chicago in implementing this crucial transportation project; | 21 | | and be it further | 22 | | RESOLVED, That we call upon Congress to return to their |
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| 1 | | previous practice in Fiscal Year 2010 of appropriating $2.5 | 2 | | billion in the annual federal budget for capital grants to | 3 | | states for high speed rail projects in order to help fund this | 4 | | high speed rail project; and be it further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 6 | | delivered to the Governor, the Illinois Secretary of | 7 | | Transportation, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and the members of | 8 | | the Illinois congressional delegation.
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