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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, According to a report by NBC 5 Chicago, as of
3September 30, 2021, a total of 185 expressway shootings
4happened in the Chicago region, more than double the 83 the
5area had seen by the same date the previous year, which is a
645% increase over the 128 shootings the region experienced in
7all of 2020; and
 
8    WHEREAS, By September 30, 2021, at least 85 people have
9been wounded in expressway shootings, and 16 have been killed;
10and
 
11    WHEREAS, According to the Illinois State Police, a very
12small percentage of expressway shootings in the Chicago area
13are cases of road rage; the shootings are opportunistic, where
14somebody has a problem with somebody else and they cross paths
15on the interstate; and
 
16    WHEREAS, One suggestion that has been put forth to deter
17crime on the Chicago expressways is to convert expressways
18into toll roads, but that idea may be illegal; the 1956
19Interstate Highway Act generally bans tolling on interstates;
20and
 
21    WHEREAS, Throughout the years, Congress has authorized

 

 

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1pilot programs under which states can start collecting tolls
2on existing interstates to fund improvements on those roads,
3but only for the purpose of road improvements; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The Dan Ryan Expressway I-57 is a high traffic
5expressway where numerous shootings have occurred, and a state
6tollway system could serve to reduce violence by making it
7more difficult for these opportunistic shootings to take
8place; therefore, be it
 
9    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
10HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
11we call on the U.S. Congress to authorize a policy change to
12allow existing interstates built with federal funding to
13become state tollways, enabling Illinois to convert the Dan
14Ryan Expressway I-57 into a toll road for the safety of its
15citizens; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
17delivered to the President of the United States, the U.S.
18Senate Majority Leader, the U.S. Senate Minority Leader, the
19U.S. Speaker of the House, the U.S. House of Representatives
20Minority Leader, and all members of the Illinois Congressional
21Delegation.