State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HR1119

 
                                               LRB9218365DHgc

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, United  Airlines  is  the  largest  air  carrier
 3    headquartered   in   Illinois,   the  ongoing  viability  and
 4    stability of United Airlines, a significant  economic  engine
 5    for  commercial  activity throughout Northern Illinois, is of
 6    paramount importance to the welfare of the State of  Illinois
 7    and its citizens; and

 8        WHEREAS,  United employs nearly 20,000 at O'Hare, Chicago
 9    Reservations,  World  Headquarters,   and   other   locations
10    throughout Northern Illinois; and

11        WHEREAS, United and its holding company, UAL Corporation,
12    also  contribute  over  $84,000,000  annually  in  rents  and
13    landing fees, passenger facility charges, and significant tax
14    revenue to the region and the State of Illinois; and

15        WHEREAS,  Each  day, more than 800 United flights takeoff
16    or arrive at O'Hare and more than  80,000  United  passengers
17    arrive  or depart from O'Hare.  One United domestic passenger
18    arriving at O'Hare generates  approximately  $1,120  for  the
19    City   of   Chicago   and   the   State  of  Illinois.   Each
20    international  passenger  generates   approximately   $2,310.
21    Because   of  United,  almost  15,000,000  travelers  a  year
22    contribute to the region's economy; and

23        WHEREAS,  United's  Chicago  Reservations  Center   makes
24    upwards  of  18,000,000  bookings  annually  and, at the same
25    time, United Cargo employees process over 232,000,000  pounds
26    of mail and freight at O'Hare; and

27        WHEREAS,   United   was  significantly  impacted  by  the
28    September 11,  2001  terrorist  attacks;  with  two  of  four
29    hijacked  aircraft  belonging to United, it was both a target
30    and a victim of the tragic events of September 11; and

31        WHEREAS, The dramatic drop in air travel since  September
 
                            -2-                LRB9218365DHgc
 1    11,  2001 -- especially high yield international and business
 2    travel  --  has  and  continues   to   have   a   significant
 3    deteriorating  impact  on  the  financial condition of United
 4    Airlines; and

 5        WHEREAS,  The  Air  Transportation  Safety   and   System
 6    Stabilization  Act  was signed by the President of the United
 7    States on September 22, just  11  days  after  the  terrorist
 8    attacks of September 11, 2001; and

 9        WHEREAS,  The  President  of  the United States described
10    this Act as  providing  "urgently  needed  tools"  to  assure
11    safety  and  immediate  stability  of our Nation's commercial
12    airline system and to establish a  process  for  compensating
13    victims of terrorist attacks; and

14        WHEREAS,  In  order  to  compensate  air carriers for the
15    losses associated with September 11, and  to  induce  private
16    lending  institutions  to extend financial assistance to U.S.
17    airlines, the Stabilization Act provided  direct  grants  for
18    air carriers and up to $10,000,000,000 in loan guarantees for
19    U.S. based air carriers; and

20        WHEREAS, The loan guarantee provision of the Act is meant
21    to  assist  those  carriers  that  suffered losses due to the
22    terrorist attacks of September 11,  and  to  whom  credit  is
23    otherwise  not  available  in  order  to  facilitate  a safe,
24    efficient, and  viable  commercial  aviation  system  in  the
25    United States; and

26        WHEREAS,  There  is  no cost to the U.S. Government or to
27    the American taxpayer, apart  from  administrative  expenses,
28    unless  the  airline  defaults  on  the  loan  and  the  U.S.
29    Government is called on to honor the guarantee; and

30        WHEREAS,  United  has outlined a sound financial recovery
31    plan with  four  basic  tenets:  expense  reduction,  revenue
 
                            -3-                LRB9218365DHgc
 1    enhancement,  employee-shared  sacrifice,  and  financing and
 2    liquidity; and

 3        WHEREAS, United's updated ATSB  loan  application,  dated
 4    October 22, 2002, requesting $1,800,000,000 includes specific
 5    labor  cost  reductions of $5,800,000,000 over the next 5 1/2
 6    years, with the participation of all employee groups; and

 7        WHEREAS, United Airlines has pledged  specific  non-labor
 8    profit  improvements  of  $1,400,000,000 and a process for an
 9    additional $400,000,000 in savings; and

10        WHEREAS, United has pledged to work  tirelessly  to  find
11    additional means of enhancing revenue and lowering costs; and

12        WHEREAS,  United  is  in precisely the situation Congress
13    had in mind when it enacted the Air Transportation Safety and
14    System Stabilization Act; therefore be it

15        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES   OF   THE
16    NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
17    we do hereby formally request and urge the Air Transportation
18    Stabilization  Board,  part of the United States Treasury, to
19    expeditiously approve United Airlines' application for a loan
20    guarantee; and be it further

21        RESOLVED, That suitable  copies  of  this  resolution  be
22    immediately delivered to George W. Bush, the President of the
23    United  States;  Alan  Greenspan, the Chairman of the Federal
24    Reserve   Board;   Norman   Mineta,    the    Secretary    of
25    Transportation;  and  Paul  O'Neill,  the  Secretary  of  the
26    Treasury.

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