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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Illinois and Chicago are known as the nation's
3rail hub, and pursuant to data provided by the Metropolitan
4Planning Council, the Chicago region serves as a national
5east-west gateway for six of the seven major Class I railroads
6that transport approximately 25 percent of all U.S. freight
7rail traffic and 44 percent of all U.S. intermodal "container"
8units, totaling more than 1.3 million loaded rail cars
9annually; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Metra operates 691 weekday trains, stopping at 241
11stations on 11 rail lines in the Chicago region; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Amtrak operates a nationwide rail network,
13serving more than 500 destinations in 46 states, the District
14of Columbia, and three Canadian provinces on more than 21,400
15miles of routes, with Chicago serving as a major hub for most
16of their interstate services; and
 
17    WHEREAS, These activities provide vital transit services
18for residents of Illinois, Illinois commerce, and the nation;
19and
 
20    WHEREAS, Actual and projected growth in rail freight,
21Metra, and Amtrak service continues to put pressure on existing

 

 

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1Illinois rail systems, often creating higher congestion and
2reduced safety when passengers and freight share the same rail
3lines; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Transportation
5participated in a nine-state planning effort that resulted in
6publication of the Midwest Regional Rail System (MWRRS)
7executive report in September 2004, which outlines steps to
8improve regional rail mobility and stimulate economic
9development at an estimated budget of $7.7 billion, and it is
10unclear what impact has been achieved; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
12mandates a process to use either an Environmental Assessment or
13a more comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement to collect
14data, evaluate impacts, review alternatives, and propose
15project solutions; and
 
16    WHEREAS, One of the current rail projects being studied is
17an Environmental Assessment of proposed improvements to the
18Chicago-Milwaukee Intercity Passenger Rail Program; the
19improvements are estimated to cost $195 million plus the
20increased annual operating expenses of adding three daily round
21trips to the Amtrak Hiawatha service; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Several communities, including the Village of

 

 

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1Glenview and the City of Lake Forest, have expressed strong
2concerns about this Environmental Assessment's lack of data and
3missing analyses of potential impacts of and alternatives to
4freight train holding tracks, noise, vibrations, releases into
5the air to adjacent residential areas, hospital, schools, and
6rare nature preserves; and
 
7    WHEREAS, It is in the public's best interest to fully
8evaluate the benefits and impacts of rail projects in Illinois
9prior to seeking public funding and agency permitting for such
10projects; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
12HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE
13CONCURRING HEREIN, That in accordance with the National
14Environmental Policy Act and in support of potentially impacted
15communities in Illinois, all proposed Illinois rail projects
16with new freight train holding tracks adjacent to residential
17areas, including the current Chicago-Milwaukee Intercity
18Passenger Rail Program described above, shall receive full
19Environmental Impact Statement reviews; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation
21shall pursue options to eliminate or minimize the routing of
22bypass freight traffic through the Chicago metropolitan area,
23including prioritizing the review and study of rail bypass

 

 

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1systems around Chicago that would ensure coastal rail traffic
2not destined for Chicago could more efficiently bypass the
3Chicago region and significantly reduce the negative impacts of
4freight rail in the highest populated areas of Illinois; and be
5it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
7presented to the members of the Illinois Congressional
8Delegation and the Illinois Department of Transportation.