HR0320 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0320 LRB101 12117 ALS 59685 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Illinois has long been the hub of freight rail in the United States; and

WHEREAS, The seven private railroads bring 12,000 jobs with an average wage and benefits package of $125,000 a year per railroad employee to Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Rail in Illinois moves the crops that farmers grow, the fuel required for electricity, and the goods consumers demand every day; and

WHEREAS, Without freight rail in Illinois, 26.8 million more trucks would have been on the road in 2017; and

WHEREAS, Freight railroads are the most environmentally friendly way to move large amounts of freight, as a single gallon of fuel is able to transport a ton of freight nearly 500 miles; and

WHEREAS, Freight railroads in Illinois pay for their own infrastructure and do not rely on support from the State to maintain the 5,700 plus miles of track they own and operate; and

WHEREAS, In 2019, freight railroads will spend over $600 million on their infrastructure in Illinois and $25 billion across the entire country; and

WHEREAS, Freight railroads pay a number of taxes to State and local governments in Illinois, including property tax, income tax, sales/use tax, fuel tax, franchise tax, fuel excise tax, and other regulatory fees, collectively contributing over a quarter of a billion dollars to State and local government each year; and

WHEREAS, Recently, the freight railroads partnered with public agencies to pursue a successful $132 million INFRA grant from the United States Department of Transportation for CREATE, a model for public private partnerships in the United States, which was matched by $111 million from the State of Illinois and $116 million from the freight railroads collectively; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize Illinois railroads on the 150th anniversary of the connection of the east and west railroads, represented by the "golden spike" planted in Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869.