August 12, 2011
To the Honorable
Members of the
Illinois House of
Representatives,
97th
General Assembly:
In accordance with Article IV, Section 9(b) of the Illinois
Constitution, I hereby veto House Bill 1966 from the 97th General
Assembly.
As Governor, I am committed to ensuring that the State of Illinois is
the leader for high speed rail in the United States. I have worked tirelessly
with the Illinois General Assembly and our State’s congressional delegation to
bring federal funding to Illinois for the construction and development of High
Speed Rail. In the past year, Illinois has received packages of $1.2 billion,
$186 million, and $268 million for High Speed Rail projects from the Federal
Government.
This bill creates the Illinois High-Speed Rail Commission for the
purposes of researching and submitting a plan to the Illinois General Assembly
for the development and construction a High-Speed Rail system.
While I support the development of high speed rail, the creation of the
Illinois High-Speed Rail Commission duplicates the appointment of the 220
advisory committee made on June 2, 2011. This distinguished group of high speed
rail experts and advocates will work with the Illinois Department of
Transportation and the University of Illinois to study 220 mile per hour rail in
Illinois. This group includes the sponsor of House Bill 1966, Senator Martin
Sandoval, who has been a leading advocate of High Speed Rail in the Illinois
General Assembly. My administration looks forward to working with Representative
Burke, Senator Sandoval, our advisory committee, and the University of Illinois
to work together on the issues House Bill 1966 addresses.
Therefore, pursuant to Article IV, Section 9(b) of the Illinois
Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 1966, entitled “AN ACT
concerning transportation.”, vetoed in its entirety with this statement of
objections.
Sincerely,
PAT QUINN
Governor