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1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 12
2 WHEREAS, Legislation has been proposed in the United
3 States Congress to extend the boundaries of the Illinois and
4 Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor from Harlem Avenue
5 to Lake Michigan and create the Calumet Ecological Park; and
6 WHEREAS, The proposed legislation will not impose any new
7 regulations on the areas in question nor require additional
8 federal funding; and
9 WHEREAS, The proposed legislation will create eligibility
10 for businesses within the corridor to participate in the
11 revolving loan fund sponsored by the Illinois and Michigan
12 Canal Federal Commission; and
13 WHEREAS, The extension of the National Heritage
14 Corridor's boundaries into Chicago will result in an increase
15 of tourism in the Chicago area and will afford federal
16 protection to Illinois and Michigan Canal lands; and
17 WHEREAS, The extension of the corridor boundaries into
18 Chicago will ultimately create an economic and ecological
19 corridor of great significance; and
20 WHEREAS, In 1992 the Lake Calumet Study Committee offered
21 the concept of a Calumet Ecological Park, a series of
22 greenway corridors connecting the Indiana Dunes National
23 Lakeshore with the Illinois and Michigan Canal National
24 Heritage Corridor in Illinois; and in 1993 the Calumet
25 Ecological Park Association was created to involve citizens
26 and organizations in an effort to create such an entity; and
27 WHEREAS, On May 8, 1996 the Honorable Jerry Weller,
28 United States Representative from Illinois (11th District)
29 introduced the concept into the U.S. House of Representatives
30 requesting the Secretary of the Interior to study such a
31 possibility; and after a tortuous journey through committees
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1 and subcommittees the final version was incorporated in a
2 much larger bill, which passed both houses of Congress and,
3 on November 12, 1996 President Bill Clinton signed the
4 Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 into
5 law (Public Law 104-333); and
6 WHEREAS, The Omnibus Parks law has two sections dealing
7 with Illinois riverways: the Calumet Ecological Park
8 (Section 816) and the Illinois and Michigan Canal National
9 Heritage Corridor (Section 902); and both request the
10 Secretary of the Interior to be the final authority; and
11 WHEREAS, The Secretary shall conduct a study of the
12 possibility of the creation of the Calumet Ecological Park,
13 and the law directs the Illinois and Michigan Canal National
14 Heritage Corridor Commission (appointed by the Illinois
15 Governor) to conduct a study of the possibility of expanding
16 the Corridor into Chicago and report to the Secretary; and
17 WHEREAS, Although the two sections of the law dealing
18 with Illinois are quite compatible, the success of one of
19 the provisions does not necessarily lead to the success of
20 the other; and even if the Illinois and Michigan Canal
21 Corridor expansion were to be implemented, there is no
22 guarantee that the Calumet Ecological Park would be created;
23 and
24 WHEREAS, As a result the efforts to create the Park must
25 be continued; at the present time staff of the National Park
26 Service will be conducting the study of the Calumet
27 Ecological Park to be submitted to the Secretary of the
28 Interior; therefore, be it
29 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
30 NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
31 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the Illinois
32 congressional delegation to encourage a positive decision by
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1 the Secretary of the Interior on those matters which extend
2 the boundaries of the Illinois and Michigan Canal National
3 Heritage Corridor from Harlem Avenue to Lake Michigan and
4 create the Calumet Ecological Park; and be it further
5 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
6 presented to the President pro tempore of the United States
7 Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of
8 Representatives, and to each member of the Illinois
9 Congressional Delegation.
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