Full Text of SJR0039

SJ0039 LRB104 13559 MST 26077 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) stated in its 2021 report card that the United States received a grade of C- regarding the current state of infrastructure and that more than six trillion dollars is needed to restore the nation's infrastructure to a state of good repair; over two trillion dollars is currently not funded, and the remainder is inadequately funded; new, 21st Century projects are also unfunded; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois ASCE 2022 Report Card assigned the State's systems a cumulative grade of "C-"; the report analyzes 11 categories of infrastructure pertinent to Illinois, including aviation (C+), bridges (C), dams (C+), drinking water (D+), inland waterways (D), ports (C-), rail (C+), roads (D+), storm water (D+), transit (D+), and wastewater (C-); and

WHEREAS, Out of four million total water service lines, over 675,000 have been identified as lead and almost 380,000 as copper with lead solder services; Illinois will require at least $12 billion to replace the lead water lines, and federal appropriations will cover less than 10% of that cost; and

WHEREAS, Illinois' aging drinking water infrastructure is leading to leaking pipelines, costing taxpayers money and critical resources; in 2017, a total of 106 million gallons per day (MGD) were lost among Lake Michigan allocation permittees, or 13% of total water supplied; additional funding is needed for aging storm water infrastructure that must keep up with increasing rainfall trends from climate change; and

WHEREAS, Illinois needs at least 300,000 new units of affordable housing for the most housing insecure; homelessness increased in Illinois in 2024 by 116%, and there are 26,000 unhoused in the State; and

WHEREAS, There are 2,405 bridges in poor condition, or 9% of all bridges in the State that are crossed by motorists every day; approximately 70% of Illinois bridges in poor condition are owned by counties, towns, or cities, suggesting the local maintenance backlog is a significant challenge; and

WHEREAS, Federal legislation is needed to create a national infrastructure bank to finance all infrastructure requirements to bring the system to a state of good repair and build new projects; and

WHEREAS, The new national infrastructure bank is modeled on previous banks that helped build much of the country's infrastructure under Presidents George Washington, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt; the last such bank helped bring us out of the Great Depression and win World War II; and

WHEREAS, The new national infrastructure bank will create 25 million new jobs, pay Davis-Bacon wages, and enforce Buy America provisions; Disadvantaged Business Enterprises will receive significant disbursements, and the bill mandates large-scale minority hiring; the bank will require no new federal spending or federal taxes; according to experts, the bank will grow the economy by 5% per year as did its predecessors; and

WHEREAS, The new national infrastructure bank will complement the Rebuild Illinois infrastructure program passed by the legislature in 2019 and provide the additional new money to bring all infrastructure in Illinois to a state of good repair; and

WHEREAS, Many organizations are in support of a new national infrastructure bank, including the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, the National Asian-Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators, the Council of State Governments-East, the National Association of Counties, the National Association of Development Organizations, the US High Speed Rail Association, the National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association, the American Sustainable Business Council, the National Association of Minority Contractors, and the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters International Union; in addition, 29 state legislatures have introduced or passed resolutions of support, as have county and city councils, including the Chicago City Council; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the United States Congress to pass legislation to create a new national infrastructure bank to finance urgently needed infrastructure projects; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the President of the United States, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader, the U.S. Senate Minority Leader, the U.S. Speaker of the House, the U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader, all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation, and the Governor.