(20 ILCS 3968/5)
Sec. 5.
Findings; purpose.
The General Assembly finds that
safe, reliable, and convenient transportation to and from (i) work and
related destinations such as child care and education, (ii) medical
appointments and related destinations such as a pharmacy, and (iii)
ancillary services necessary to the health, well-being, and
independence of the family such as grocery shopping, adult day services,
and pharmacy related services are extremely
important in the ability to
find and retain employment and insure the continued independence and
well-being of all citizens of Illinois, particularly in the lower
income sectors of the economy. For many people, these transportation
needs are not met by existing mass transit. In a national survey by
the University of Illinois at Chicago of over 500 riders of 23
federally funded community transportation projects under the Job Access
and Reverse Commute (JARC) program across the nation, 68% of riders
indicated that they would not be able to reach their employment without
this service. Furthermore, the national evaluation of the JARC program
by the General Accounting Office illustrates that 65% of all projects
have extended existing fixed routes by schedule or location as well as
created connections to existing services. This creates a need for
innovative transportation to work strategies that fit within local
circumstances in Illinois. Many localities around Illinois do not
have the resources or the expertise to develop and support innovative
transportation options. Localities need access to technical
assistance both in designing programs and in accessing various sources
of State and federal funds. Illinois also leaves substantial federal
transportation funds unclaimed because of the failure to put forward
projects to use the funds. Thus, Illinois would benefit from an
Interagency Coordinating Committee to set priorities for improving
access to transportation for the transportation disadvantaged. The
General Accounting Office has found in its evaluation that interagency
collaboration has informed transit agencies of how to better serve low-income
communities by knowing where jobs are located and a system of
supports are found. Illinois would also benefit from a unified State
process to apply for federal transportation assistance for innovative
transportation to work projects and strategies and for identifying the
matching funds necessary to access that federal assistance. The
purpose of this Act is to establish the Interagency Coordinating
Committee on Transportation.
(Source: P.A. 93-185, eff. 7-11-03.)
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