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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, On May 1, 2017, Great Lakes Basin Transportation,
3Inc. (GLBT) filed a formal application with the Federal Surface
4Transportation Board (STB) to construct and operate a private
5rail line running through Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin; and
 
6    WHEREAS, This application calls for a 260 mile privately
7owned and operated railway that would cut through many
8individuals homes and farmland; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The use of eminent domain in our State and our
10nation is to provide land for public use in appropriate
11instances, it is not for private gain; and
 
12    WHEREAS, If the plan were imposed in its current form,
13Grundy County and Kankakee County would lose an estimated $70
14million and $90 million per year respectively in agricultural
15revenue that could never be replaced; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The GLBT railway is facing bipartisan opposition
17from elected officials across three states as well as by
18certain public railroads; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The GLBT railway improperly damages the rights of
20property owners who rightfully own the land in its path,

 

 

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1endangers the Kankakee River and local wildlife and habitats,
2and tears apart the communities who depend on that land;
3therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
5HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
6strongly urge against the Great Lakes Basin Transportation,
7Inc. (GLBT) railway due to the fiscal, ethical, and
8environmental strain it would put on the counties this railway
9goes through; and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11delivered to the Federal Surface Transportation Board.