SR0795 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0795 LRB097 21738 GRL 70204 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Public transportation in urban areas is essential for the quality of life of residents; and

WHEREAS, The neighborhoods of Bronzeville, Bridgeport, Armour Square, McKinley Park, and Little Village within the City of Chicago are without a standard east-west bus route (from Cicero to the Lake Front) through their densely-populated communities, as there is no bus route between Cermak Avenue (22nd Street) and 47th Street, which leaves a 3 1/4-mile gap between east-west bus routes; and

WHEREAS, This 3 1/4-mile gap in service is particularly problematic because these neighborhoods have a very high percentage of residents who do not have automobiles; and

WHEREAS, There are approximately 300,000 people in this "bus desert" area without any east-west bus service; and

WHEREAS, The Little Village Lawndale High School is the only Chicago public high school without Chicago Transit Authority Bus Services within 3 blocks of the school; and

WHEREAS, The Chicago Transit Authority cut the 31st Street bus route in 1997, citing relatively low ridership on the bus route; and

WHEREAS, Since 1997, the population in these neighborhoods has risen dramatically and several new anchor institutions have been built, including the Little Village High School and the New 31st Street Harbor, to join existing anchor institutions, including U.S. Cellular Field, the Illinois Institute of Technology, the De La Salle Institute, Arturo Velasquez West Side Tech, McCormick Place, Hyatt Hotel McCormick Place, Soldier Field, the Field Museum, the Aquarium, the Planetarium, 12th St. Beach, and Northerly Island; these new developments would make the 31st Street bus a successful route; and

WHEREAS, In 2009, the CTA, through the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), successfully applied for and received $1,067,659 in Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) Funds through the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) to operate the bus route for 3 years to assist Chicago area residents to find and get to jobs, but, to date, has not matched the federal grant with $1,067,659 of its own funds to operate the bus; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we call upon the Chicago Transit Authority to prioritize the $1,067,659 of annual operating funds to relaunch the 31st Street bus from Cicero to the Lake Front for 3 years to serve the people of the Chicago neighborhoods of Little Village, McKinley Park, Armour Square, Bridgeport, the Town of Cicero, and Bronzeville; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the Chicago Transit Authority.