Full Text of HR0589 97th General Assembly
HR0589 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Amtrak Illinois service has been an excellent | 3 | | investment in mobility for Illinois' economy for more than 30 | 4 | | years; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has for decades been a | 6 | | partner of Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger | 7 | | Corporation, in financing additional service in Illinois | 8 | | beyond the national network of long-distance passenger trains; | 9 | | and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Illinois has enjoyed a bipartisan, statewide | 11 | | consensus on the value of passenger train service to link the | 12 | | State's universities, smaller communities, suburbs, and | 13 | | Chicago; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, With ever-increasing traffic on the State's | 15 | | highways, especially in the Chicago area, investing in | 16 | | passenger rail to alleviate automobile traffic is a prudent use | 17 | | of taxpayer dollars; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, A robust passenger train system is an essential | 19 | | component of national security in the event of a mass | 20 | | evacuation, as demonstrated by the aftermath of the September | 21 | | 11 attacks and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly in 2006 doubled its | 2 | | commitment to Amtrak Illinois service, setting the nation on a | 3 | | path for growth in passenger rail, and has reaped doubled | 4 | | ridership on almost all routes in the State, sparking real | 5 | | estate development around train stations and frequently | 6 | | selling out trains; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, An essential tool for rural economic development | 8 | | is passenger trains connecting small towns to the economic | 9 | | engines of large cities and universities; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The United States House of Representatives passed | 11 | | a budget bill that precludes the use of any federal dollars for | 12 | | State-supported Amtrak routes such as the Lincoln Service, the | 13 | | Illini, the Saluki, the Carl Sandburg, and the Hiawatha; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, The provision in the House budget bill would | 15 | | essentially eliminate most Amtrak service in Illinois, | 16 | | stranding almost 2 million annual passengers; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The House budget bill woefully underfunds Amtrak | 18 | | and the high speed rail program; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, In light of Illinois' continued robust capital and | 20 | | operating investment in Amtrak and high speed rail, it is |
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| 1 | | particularly shortsighted for the federal government to | 2 | | eliminate or cut back its investment in passenger rail; | 3 | | therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 5 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 6 | | we urge the United States Congress to fully fund Amtrak and the | 7 | | high speed rail program; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Congress to | 9 | | eliminate any provision that would reduce the federal | 10 | | investment in State-supported Amtrak service, as this | 11 | | partnership is a model to be emulated, not discouraged; and be | 12 | | it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be presented to | 14 | | Senators Dick Durbin, Mark Kirk and the entire congressional | 15 | | delegation of the State of Illinois.
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