HR0684 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0684 LRB098 14786 GRL 49712 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The General Assembly must work to provide efficient transportation methods that will grow the economy and create much-needed jobs in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The Illiana Expressway project is a proposed transportation corridor between the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana; the corridor is expected to be approximately 50 miles in length, with 10 miles of expressway in Indiana and 40 miles of expressway in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The existing I-55 and I-57 highways provide good routes for north-south travel through the area, but there is a lack of comparable east-west routes south of I-80; and

WHEREAS, The Illiana Expressway would provide comparable east-west routes south of I-80 Chicago and be the first public-private partnership in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Public-private partnership projects are the wave of the future; Indiana has already used this model successfully for several projects in their state, including the Chicago Skyway and Ohio River Bridges projects; and

WHEREAS, Public-private partnership projects tend to be built faster, cost less, and are more efficiently constructed than traditional highway projects; the projects allow states to build great projects like the Illiana Corridor with less tax dollars and allow taxpayers to realize all of the benefits of the project at a fraction of the cost; and

WHEREAS, The Illiana Expressway is projected to generate toll revenue that will completely pay for the project and the operation and maintenance of the facility for the term of the projected agreement through 2053; and

WHEREAS, Moving freight is an important part of the Midwestern economy; the Illiana Expressway would provide a bypass for trucks that allows them to travel through the region without passing through the urban areas that currently surround the existing expressways; and

WHEREAS, The Illiana Expressway would serve as a much-needed boost to the economy; the Illinois Department of Transportation has estimated that the project will create 9,000 construction jobs and over 25,000 long-term jobs for the region; and

WHEREAS, The Illiana Expressway would provide the State of Illinois with an opportunity to invest in our future, create jobs, improve traffic safety, and provide a cost effective solution to growing transportation needs; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we express our support for the Illiana Expressway project and urge the members of the General Assembly to take the necessary steps to ensure that the expressway is successfully completed; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, the policy board for the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the Metropolitan Planning Council, the chairpersons of the DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Lake County Boards, and the Will County Executive.