HJ0029LRB098 11336 GRL 42875 r

1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Public transportation in urban areas is essential
3for the quality of life of residents; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The neighborhoods of Little Village, McKinley
5Park, Armour Square, Bridgeport, the Town of Cicero, South
6Loop, and Bronzeville within the City of Chicago are without a
7standard east-west bus route (from Cicero to the Lake Front)
8through their densely-populated communities, as there is no bus
9route between Cermak Avenue (22nd Street) and 47th Street,
10which leaves a 3 1/4-mile gap between east-west bus routes; and
 
11    WHEREAS, This 3 1/4-mile gap in service is particularly
12problematic because these neighborhoods have a very high
13percentage of residents who do not have automobiles; and
 
14    WHEREAS, There are approximately 300,000 people in this
15"bus desert" area without any east-west bus service; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The Chicago Transit Authority cut the 31st Street
17bus route in 1997, citing relatively low ridership on the bus
18route; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The population within a one-half mile zone of the
2031st street proposed bus route between Cicero Avenue and the

 

 

HJ0029- 2 -LRB098 11336 GRL 42875 r

1lakefront has grown to 201,047 people; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Since 1997, the population in these neighborhoods
3has risen dramatically and several new anchor institutions have
4been built, including the Little Village High School and the
5New 31st Street Harbor, to join existing anchor institutions,
6including U.S. Cellular Field, the Illinois Institute of
7Technology, the De La Salle Institute, Arturo Velasquez West
8Side Tech, McCormick Place, Hyatt Hotel-McCormick Place,
9Soldier Field, the Field Museum, the Aquarium, the Planetarium,
1012th St. Beach, and Northerly Island; these new developments
11would make the 31st Street bus a successful route; and
 
12    WHEREAS, In 2009, the CTA, through the Regional
13Transportation Authority (RTA), successfully applied for and
14received $1,067,659 in Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) Funds
15through the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) to
16operate the bus route for 3 years to assist Chicago area
17residents to find and get to jobs, but, to date, has not
18matched the entire federal grant with $1,067,659 of its own
19funds to operate the bus for 3 years; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
22SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we call upon the Chicago Transit
23Authority to relaunch the 31st Street bus from Cicero to the

 

 

HJ0029- 3 -LRB098 11336 GRL 42875 r

1Lake Front for 3 years to serve the people of the Chicago
2neighborhoods of Little Village, McKinley Park, Armour Square,
3Bridgeport, the Town of Cicero, South Loop, and Bronzeville;
4and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6presented to the Chicago Transit Authority.