HR0957 LRB094 19671 DRJ 56125 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The Pentagon has ordered the Illinois National
3 Guard to prepare plans to eliminate as many as 1,000 positions,
4 which is 10% of the State's Guard positions; and
 
5     WHEREAS, The following National Guard units could be
6 affected by this reduction: Company F of the 106th Aviation
7 Battalion, based at the Greater Peoria Regional Airport, a
8 Chinook helicopter company which recently served in Iraq and
9 which has about 75 Guard members; the Aviation Intermediate
10 Maintenance Facility, also a part of the 106th Aviation
11 Battalion, which has about 300 Guard members; and Company B and
12 Detachment 2, based in Bartonville, which provide security for
13 the 35th Infantry Division based in Kansas and have about 160
14 Guard members; and
 
15     WHEREAS, These National Guard units serve not only the
16 nation in times of war or national emergencies; they also
17 provide security and safety to residents of the Greater Peoria
18 area; and without the presence of these units, the ability to
19 respond to a terrorist threat, national disaster, or community
20 emergency will be significantly diminished; and
 
21     WHEREAS, These National Guard units played a major role in
22 rescue and support operations during the Great Flood of 1993, a
23 service for which the Greater Peoria community will always be
24 grateful; the units also have assisted the community in many
25 other ways; and
 
26     WHEREAS, If these National Guard units are eliminated, the
27 economic stability of the Greater Peoria area, as well as its
28 safety and security, will be adversely affected; these units
29 are comprised of more than 500 soldiers; and
 
30     WHEREAS, While some eliminated National Guard positions

 

 

HR0957 - 2 - LRB094 19671 DRJ 56125 r

1 might be replaced, it is uncertain how many such positions
2 might be replaced and when that might happen; in the meantime,
3 the adverse impact on the area's safety, security, and economic
4 stability would continue; therefore, be it
 
5     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7 we strongly urge the Pentagon to reconsider its proposed cuts
8 in Illinois National Guard positions; and be it further
 
9     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this Resolution be
10 forwarded to President George W. Bush, Secretary of Defense
11 Donald Rumsfeld, and each member of the Illinois Congressional
12 delegation.