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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 190
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake located
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| 3 | entirely in the United States; and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, When measured by water surface, Lake Michigan is
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| 5 | the third largest of the Great Lakes; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, Lake Michigan is the second largest of the Great
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| 7 | Lakes by volume; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, Approximately 12 million people live along Lake
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| 9 | Michigan's shore, including the 2.7 million residents of the
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| 10 | City of Chicago; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Lake Michigan serves as a source of drinking
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| 12 | water, as a place for swimming and fishing, and as a scenic
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| 13 | wonderland; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, Lake Michigan is a magnificent resource that
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| 15 | provides an essential home for all kinds of wildlife; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, In 2008, Illinois, along with Indiana, Michigan,
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| 17 | Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin adopted
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| 18 | a compact banning diversions without concurrence of all
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| 19 | signatories, which President George W. Bush signed; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, The declining water levels could negatively
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| 2 | impact industries such as commercial shipping, hydroelectric
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| 3 | power generation, and recreational boating and fishing, which
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| 4 | would hinder the economic growth of the region; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, The Great Lakes are large bodies of water that
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| 6 | would not replenish easily; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Experts have already seen environmental changes
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| 8 | created by the diversion of water; the Great Lakes ice cover
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| 9 | has been decreasing, while air and water temperatures have been
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| 10 | rising, which clearly illustrates global climate change in the
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| 11 | region; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Removing water from this vital body of water sets
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| 13 | a bad precedent for the protection of this finite resource and
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| 14 | will put a strain on its water supply; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 15 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
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| 16 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we strongly support the | ||||||
| 17 | Great Lakes Basin
Compact and adamantly oppose any
effort to | ||||||
| 18 | divert water from Lake Michigan, or the other Great
Lakes, to | ||||||
| 19 | the southwestern states.
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