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1
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 639

 
2    WHEREAS, The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning is
3currently updating its GOTO2040 master plan as part of a
4federally required mid-decade update; and
 
5    WHEREAS, A new initiative for first-class passenger rail
6service called Crossrail Chicago has emerged which would, for
7the first time, connect Metra route lines together, knitting
8together the Chicagoland region; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Crossrail Chicago would allow for downstate
10Amtrak service to connect directly with O'Hare International
11Airport; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Metra currently runs 11 separate lines, each of
13which terminates in downtown Chicago; these lines do not travel
14through downtown Chicago, which would be far more efficient;
15and
 
16    WHEREAS, Union Station has 2 tracks that travel through the
17station that are not currently used, but could be used for
18Metra or Amtrak service; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Northeast Illinois has long suffered from a
20jobs-housing mismatch, where tens of thousands of entry-level

 

 

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1jobs in and around O'Hare Airport and the northwest suburbs
2struggle to be filled, while tens of thousands of residents of
3the south side and south suburbs struggle to find employment;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, Current public transportation between the south
6suburbs and the south side of Chicago and the northwest suburbs
7is a long, laborious journey involving transfers between buses
8and rail, creating a greater barrier to full employment in the
9region; and
 
10    WHEREAS, This initiative is consistent with the long-term
11vision for northeastern Illinois set forth by the Chicago
12Metropolitan Agency for Planning; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Crossrail Chicago could connect Rockford, Elgin,
14Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, and O'Hare
15through Union Station to McCormick Place, Hyde Park, Homewood,
16University Park, the south suburban airport, Kankakee, and
17Champaign-Urbana in one electrified track; and
 
18    WHEREAS, There is an opportunity to build a new train
19station at O'Hare Airport as part of the consolidated rental
20car facility currently out for bid that can connect to the
21extended people-mover and existing Metra service on the North
22Central District line; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The new electrified line of Crossrail Chicago
2would be located largely on publicly owned rights-of-way and
3could bring tremendous economic benefits to the region and
4State; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Crossrail Chicago would allow for a direct train
6ride between O'Hare Airport and McCormick Place, the
7continent's largest convention facility; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Metra service along the Metra Electric line from
9University Park to McCormick Place could be significantly
10improved through the Crossrail Chicago initiative; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Using existing elevated tracks along 16th Street
12could connect Metra Electric tracks, Metra Rock Island tracks,
13and Union Station; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Crossrail Chicago can also serve as the trunk of a
15Midwest high-speed rail network, which would bring millions of
16people together into one stronger economic unit; therefore, be
17it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
19ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Chicago
20Metropolitan Agency for Planning to include Crossrail Chicago

 

 

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1in its list of fiscally unconstrained projects as consistent
2with the GOTO2040 vision; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Department of
4Transportation, Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority, and the
5Chicago Department of Aviation to support the inclusion of
6Crossrail Chicago as part of GOTO2040's mid-decade update as a
7project on the fiscally unconstrained list as consistent with
8the long-term plans of those agencies; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
10delivered to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the
11Illinois Department of Transportation, Metra, the Chicago
12Transit Authority, and the Chicago Department of Aviation.