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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The first total solar eclipse to occur along a
3path across the entire continental United States since 1918
4will occur on August 21, 2017; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The point of greatest duration for the eclipse on
6August 21, 2017 will occur along a line of totality stretching
7northwest to southeast across Southern Illinois; and
 
8    WHEREAS, A second total solar eclipse will occur seven
9years later on April 8, 2024, with a line of totality
10stretching southwest to northeast across Southern Illinois;
11and
 
12    WHEREAS, The centerline of totality for both eclipses will
13intersect in Jackson County, just a few miles south of
14Carbondale; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which is
16ranked among the top 5% of all United States higher education
17institutions for research, will host public educational events
18and activities in cooperation with NASA, the Adler Planetarium,
19and other top scientists and institutions from around the
20world, providing an environment for quality outreach,
21research, and citizen science on the 2017 and 2024 eclipses;

 

 

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1and
 
2    WHEREAS, Eclipse outreach events and activities at
3Southern Illinois University Carbondale are aligned with the
4Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
5Strategic Plan, most closely relating to implementation in the
6areas of: increase and sustain youth and public engagement in
7STEM, enhance STEM experience of undergraduate students,
8better serve groups historically underrepresented in STEM
9fields; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Southern Illinois University Carbondale through
11the Southern Illinois Eclipse 2017 - 2024 steering committee is
12providing educational assistance to K-12 school districts in
13the path of the eclipse; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Roughly 250,000 visitors are estimated to travel
15to areas within a 100-mile radius of the intersection of
16eclipse totality in Southern Illinois on or about August 21,
172017 and April 8, 2024 to experience the total solar eclipses;
18and
 
19    WHEREAS, The influx of visitors to Southern Illinois to
20view each eclipse will provide much-needed, long-term economic
21opportunity for the Southern 16 counties of Illinois; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The total solar eclipses on August 21, 2017 and
2April 8, 2024 will provide unique opportunities to showcase the
3scenic, natural, historic, recreational, archeological, and
4cultural resources of Southern Illinois; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Due to the anticipated 250,000 visitors to
6Southern Illinois to view the eclipse, there is an urgent need
7to direct resources to the region to support entrepreneurship,
8job creation, hospitality training, heritage tourism,
9workforce development, infrastructure, and disaster response;
10therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
12HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
13designate Southern Illinois as the "Eclipse Crossroads of
14America" and August 21, 2017 as "Great American Eclipse Day
152017"; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That we encourage the development of a marketing
17plan for regional branding around the solar eclipses and
18general regional tourism and economic development in Southern
19Illinois that coordinates and leverages investment by federal,
20State and local governmental entities, private business,
21non-profits and non-governmental organizations that support
22development of a regional organization to ensure sustainable,
23long-term economic development that balances meeting immediate

 

 

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1needs with dedicating resources to strategic and long-term
2goals.