Full Text of SR0081 96th General Assembly
SR0081 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The waterways system of the Upper Mississippi and | 3 |
| Illinois Rivers is a vital avenue of commerce, moving over $16 | 4 |
| billion worth of material to and from the State of Illinois | 5 |
| each year; and
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| WHEREAS, 75% of Illinois agricultural products produced | 7 |
| for the export market are transported via the waterways system, | 8 |
| keeping them more competitive on the world market; and
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| WHEREAS, Billions of dollars in raw materials that supply | 10 |
| Illinois industry and support tens of thousands of jobs are | 11 |
| shipped to manufacturing facilities via the waterways system; | 12 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Each year, barges on Illinois waterways help | 14 |
| reduce congestion on Illinois highways by transporting the | 15 |
| equivalent of 4.4 million semi-trailer trucks worth of | 16 |
| materials; and
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| WHEREAS, Transporting one ton of material by barge on the | 18 |
| waterways system produces four times less CO2 emissions than by | 19 |
| truck; and
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| WHEREAS, Shipping via waterways saves other businesses |
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| approximately $7 billion per year in transportation costs; and
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| WHEREAS, The waterways shipping industry directly employs | 3 |
| over 4,000 men and women in Illinois; and
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| WHEREAS, The locks and dams that make these waterways | 5 |
| navigable were constructed over 70 years ago and have become | 6 |
| both technologically obsolete and significantly deteriorated; | 7 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, The failure of just one lock along the system | 9 |
| stops all commerce along that river; and
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| WHEREAS, Such a lock failure would cause a significant | 11 |
| increase in highway congestion, negatively impact highway | 12 |
| safety, and worsen existing pollution problems; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, Such a lock failure would cause thousands of | 14 |
| workers to sit idle, resulting in higher costs and shipping | 15 |
| problems for agriculture; and
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| WHEREAS, Plans are in place for a comprehensive | 17 |
| modernization of the national lock and dam and waterways | 18 |
| system, including along the Illinois, Mississippi, and Ohio | 19 |
| Rivers; and
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| WHEREAS, Such a modernization program would result in a | 2 |
| major investment in Illinois' infrastructure, supporting | 3 |
| thousands of construction jobs, improving the shipping of | 4 |
| goods, and providing environmental benefits; and
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois Chamber of Commerce, with the support | 6 |
| of a coalition of business, labor, and agriculture | 7 |
| organizations, including the Illinois Corn Growers and the | 8 |
| Illinois Councils of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and | 9 |
| Joiners, have issued a report calling for support for the | 10 |
| modernization of the waterways system; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 12 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage the | 13 |
| Illinois congressional delegation to support efforts to | 14 |
| undertake modernizations projects to improve the waterways | 15 |
| system in order to support the State's economic growth, reduce | 16 |
| highway congestion, and reduce pollution; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That we pledge to work with the Illinois | 18 |
| congressional delegation to further our shared goal of waterway | 19 |
| modernization; and be it further | 20 |
| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 21 |
| presented to the members of the Illinois congressional | 22 |
| delegation.
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