Full Text of SR0734 94th General Assembly
SR0734 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The General Assembly considered and passed | 3 |
| unanimously House Bill 2449 as amended (Public Act 094-0318); | 4 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, House Bill 2449 prohibited the railroads | 6 |
| operating within Illinois from denying medical treatment to or | 7 |
| interfering with the medical treatment of injured railroad | 8 |
| workers; and
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| WHEREAS, The bill as introduced in the House of | 10 |
| Representatives would have made a violation of the proposed Act | 11 |
| a business offense; House Bill 2449 would have also conferred | 12 |
| enforcement authority upon the State's Attorney in whose county | 13 |
| the offense allegedly occurred; and
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| WHEREAS, The railroads in the State represented by the | 15 |
| Illinois Railroad Association strongly opposed the bill as | 16 |
| introduced and passed by the House of Representatives; when the | 17 |
| House Bill was filed with the Secretary of the Senate, the | 18 |
| Railroad Association offered an amendment in the Senate which, | 19 |
| among other things, deleted the House language and substituted | 20 |
| language that conferred exclusive enforcement authority for | 21 |
| any violations of the Act upon the Illinois Commerce | 22 |
| Commission, the Commission having an historic regulatory | 23 |
| jurisdiction over Illinois railroads; in addition, the | 24 |
| amendment supported by the railroads deleted language as to a | 25 |
| business offense and substituted language conferring authority | 26 |
| upon the Illinois Commerce Commission to levy fines within the | 27 |
| Commission's discretion; and
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| WHEREAS, The railroads' stated to the Senate sponsors and | 29 |
| supporters that, in consideration of the adoption of the Senate | 30 |
| amendment, the railroads would not oppose the legislation or | 31 |
| the public policy that was the gist of the legislation; the |
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| Senate sponsors and co-sponsors, by reasonable inference, | 2 |
| moreover, assumed that the railroads would not challenge the | 3 |
| legality of this legislation upon its passage and enactment | 4 |
| into law, especially prior to a pattern of enforcement being | 5 |
| developed by the Illinois Commerce Commission; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, The railroads, on March 14, 2006, filed in the | 7 |
| United States District Court for the Central District of | 8 |
| Illinois, Springfield Division, in the case of BNSF Railway | 9 |
| Company, et al., v. Charles E. Box, et al., Case No. | 10 |
| 3:06-CV-03052, a complaint for a declaratory judgment that | 11 |
| Public Act 94-0318 is preempted by federal regulations; and
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly finds that the | 13 |
| recent legal action of the railroads in the State regarding | 14 |
| this legislation is a breach of faith with the General | 15 |
| Assembly; therefore, be it | 16 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 17 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we respectfully request | 18 |
| the United States District Court for the Central District of | 19 |
| Illinois, Springfield Division, to find that the plaintiff | 20 |
| railroads within the State of Illinois, in the case of BNSF | 21 |
| Railway Company, et al., v. Charles E. Box, et al., Case No. | 22 |
| 3:06-CV-03052, are estopped from challenging the legality of | 23 |
| Public Act 94-0318; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 25 |
| delivered to Honorable Jeanne E. Scott, United States District | 26 |
| Judge, and Honorable Byron G. Cudmore, United States Magistrate | 27 |
| Judge, of the United States District Court for the Central | 28 |
| District of Illinois, Springfield Division.
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