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91_HR0839
LRB9114309KBkb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The Illinois River is critical to the economic
3 vitality of Illinois, the Midwest, and the nation,
4 representing revenue and employment from commercial
5 navigation, commercial harvest of natural resources, water
6 supply, and tourism; and
7 WHEREAS, 90% of Illinois' population lives within the
8 Illinois River Basin and the watershed includes more than 10
9 million acres of the most productive farmland in the world,
10 which makes up 46% of the Illinois agricultural economy; and
11 WHEREAS, The river is a crucial part of the navigation
12 system that links the Atlantic Ocean, the Great Lakes, the
13 Mississippi River, and the Port of New Orleans; and
14 WHEREAS, More than 60 million tons of commodities are
15 shipped on the Illinois River each year, and more than half
16 of the Illinois annual corn crop is transported to market on
17 the Illinois River; and
18 WHEREAS, Industries located in watershed counties along
19 the Illinois River using barge transportation employ nearly
20 57,560 people and generate $411 million in payroll taxes
21 annually; and
22 WHEREAS, The Illinois River is one of the few remaining
23 rivers with a functioning ecosystem critical to a vast array
24 of fish and wildlife; nearly 900,000 people in the State of
25 Illinois rely on the Illinois River as their primary source
26 of drinking water; and
27 WHEREAS, This precious resource is threatened by
28 flooding, urban sprawl, soil erosion, sedimentation, and the
29 loss of critical fishing and wildlife habitats; therefore, be
30 it
-2- LRB9114309KBkb
1 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3 we hereby support the voluntary incentive-based initiative
4 known as Illinois Rivers 2020 and urge congress to pass
5 legislation supporting this broad and inclusive approach to
6 the restoration of the Illinois River Basin; and be it
7 further
8 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
9 presented to the members of the Illinois congressional
10 delegation, the Governor of the State of Illinois, the
11 Illinois Rivers Coordinating Council, the Director of the
12 Department of Natural Resources, the Director of the Illinois
13 Environmental Protection Agency, and the Director of the
14 Department of Agriculture.