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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, On September 13, 2017, the National Hurricane
3Center began tracking a tropical wave that ultimately became
4Hurricane Maria; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Hurricane Maria became the tenth most intense
6Atlantic hurricane on record and the most intense tropical
7storm of the 2017 season; and
 
8    WHEREAS, On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made
9landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm with sustained
10wind speeds of 155 miles per hour; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and the U.S.
12Virgin Islands just 14 days after Hurricane Irma; and
 
13    WHEREAS, All of the 3.5 million residents of Puerto Rico
14lost power following Hurricanes Irma and Maria; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In the nearly seven months since Hurricane Maria
16made landfall in Puerto Rico, more than 40,000 people are still
17without electricity; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Puerto Rico is experiencing the longest blackout
19in U.S. history and second longest in world history, measured

 

 

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1in customer hours of lost electricity service; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Eighty-five Ameren Illinois employees drove line
3and bucket trucks to Virginia to be shipped and later returned
4by barge to Puerto Rico; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Ninety-eight Ameren Illinois employees went
6voluntarily to Puerto Rico to assist the local utility in
7restoring power; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The employees who went to Puerto Rico faced
9unfamiliar and treacherous terrain on the island's mountains
10and in its rainforests; and
 
11    WHEREAS, These employees, along with utility workers from
12Ameren Missouri and Ameren Transmission, installed over 500
13poles, over 400 transformers, and more than 100 miles of power
14lines; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Through the hard work of these employees and their
1670 days on the island, approximately 9,200 customers in
17affected areas had their power restored; therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
19HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
20recognize the humanitarian efforts of the men and women of

 

 

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1Ameren Illinois who volunteered to help restore electricity to
2the island of Puerto Rico, known affectionately as La Isla del
3Encanto; and be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5presented to the Ameren Illinois Operations Team leads for
6their service to the people of Puerto Rico and as a symbol of
7our esteem and respect.