SR0144 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0144 LRB101 11296 JWD 56686 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Proposals have been made to sell or lease all or part of the property of the State toll highway system to private parties and also to assign all or part of the revenue received by the State toll highway system from tolls paid by the public to private parties, in order to raise money for Illinois' pension funds; and

WHEREAS, The Toll Highway Act provides that the purpose of the State Toll Highway Authority is "to promote the public welfare, and to facilitate vehicular traffic by providing convenient, safe, modern and limited access highways designed for the accommodation of the needs of the traveling public through and within the State of Illinois," not to enrich private parties through the use of its public powers; and

WHEREAS, The Toll Highway Act provides that the tolls collected by the State Toll Highway Authority are to be used "to provide for the construction, operation, regulation and maintenance of a toll highway or a system of toll highways, incorporating therein the benefits of advanced engineering skill, design, experience and safety factors, to eliminate existing traffic hazards, and to prevent automotive injuries and fatalities", not for the enrichment of private parties; and

WHEREAS, Proposals to divert the public funds and property of the State Toll Highway Authority for the enrichment of private parties violate the spirit, if not the letter, of Section 1 of Article VIII of the Illinois Constitution, which provides that "public funds, property or credit shall only be used for public purposes"; and

WHEREAS, Proposals to divert the public funds and property of the State Toll Highway Authority rightly call to mind the City of Chicago's failed experiment with privatizing its parking meters, parking garages, and the Chicago Skyway, where ever-increasing fees continue to be paid to enrich private parties while providing no continuing benefit to the public; and

WHEREAS, In 2016, the citizens of Illinois expressed their opposition to such diversions of public funds by amending their Constitution to add Section 11 to Article IX, which provides that "moneys, including bond proceeds, derived from taxes, fees, excises, or license taxes relating to registration, title, or operation or use of vehicles, or related to the use of highways, roads, streets, bridges, mass transit, intercity passenger rail, ports, airports, or to fuels used for propelling vehicles, or derived from taxes, fees, excises, or license taxes relating to any other transportation infrastructure or transportation operation, shall be expended" only for "the following: the costs of administering laws related to vehicles and transportation, including statutory refunds and adjustments provided in those laws; payment of highway obligations; costs for construction, reconstruction, maintenance, repair, and betterment of highways, roads, streets, bridges, mass transit, intercity passenger rail, ports, airports, or other forms of transportation; and other statutory highway purposes."; and

WHEREAS, Using the tolls paid by the citizens of Illinois for the operation and maintenance of the State toll highway system to raise money for Illinois' pension funds blatantly violates the plain meaning of Section 11 of Article IX of the Illinois Constitution; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, That we state our firm opposition to the unconstitutional diversion of the tolls collected by the State Toll Highway Authority; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we fully support the right of every Illinois citizen to enjoy the full benefit of the tolls paid to the State Toll Highway Authority in the form of improved roads and safer driving, without having any portion of those funds diverted for the enrichment of private parties; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we state our firm opposition to any sale or lease of the properties of the State toll highway system and to any redirection of any portion of the tolls paid for the operation and maintenance of the State toll highway system for the enrichment of private parties.