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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The General Assembly must work to provide
3efficient transportation methods that will grow the economy and
4create much-needed jobs in Illinois; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The Illiana Expressway project is a proposed
6transportation corridor between the northern portions of
7Illinois and Indiana; the corridor is expected to be
8approximately 50 miles in length, with 10 miles of expressway
9in Indiana and 40 miles of expressway in Illinois; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The existing I-55 and I-57 highways provide good
11routes for north-south travel through the area, but there is a
12lack of comparable east-west routes south of I-80; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The Illiana Expressway would provide comparable
14east-west routes south of I-80 Chicago and be the first
15public-private partnership in Illinois; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Public-private partnership projects are the wave
17of the future; Indiana has already used this model successfully
18for several projects in their state, including the Chicago
19Skyway and Ohio River Bridges projects; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Public-private partnership projects tend to be

 

 

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1built faster, cost less, and are more efficiently constructed
2than traditional highway projects; the projects allow states to
3build great projects like the Illiana Corridor with less tax
4dollars and allow taxpayers to realize all of the benefits of
5the project at a fraction of the cost; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Illiana Expressway is projected to generate
7toll revenue that will completely pay for the project and the
8operation and maintenance of the facility for the term of the
9projected agreement through 2053; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Moving freight is an important part of the
11Midwestern economy; the Illiana Expressway would provide a
12bypass for trucks that allows them to travel through the region
13without passing through the urban areas that currently surround
14the existing expressways; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The Illiana Expressway would serve as a
16much-needed boost to the economy; the Illinois Department of
17Transportation has estimated that the project will create 9,000
18construction jobs and over 25,000 long-term jobs for the
19region; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The Illiana Expressway would provide the State of
21Illinois with an opportunity to invest in our future, create
22jobs, improve traffic safety, and provide a cost effective

 

 

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1solution to growing transportation needs; therefore, be it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
4we express our support for the Illiana Expressway project and
5urge the members of the General Assembly to take the necessary
6steps to ensure that the expressway is successfully completed;
7and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
9delivered to Secretary of the Illinois Department of
10Transportation, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, the
11policy board for the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning,
12the Metropolitan Planning Council, the chairpersons of the
13DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Lake County Boards, and the Will
14County Executive.