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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The growing distance and time many Illinois
3 employees must travel between home and work is detrimental to
4 their community and family life, increases traffic congestion,
5 helps place Illinois fifth in the nation in the longest commute
6 times, and harms the State's environment; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Many Illinois employers are having increasing
8 difficulty attracting and retaining qualified workers because
9 of the commute time required and the inadequate supply of
10 nearby affordable housing; and
 
11     WHEREAS, In a time of tight budgets, Illinois must continue
12 to create and grow jobs while maximizing its investment of
13 limited State economic development funds; and
 
14     WHEREAS, One way to maximize the State's investments is by
15 encouraging companies, whenever feasible, to locate or expand
16 in location efficient areas to which their employees can easily
17 commute, where their employees can afford to live, or which do
18 not require costly new publicly funded roads or other
19 infrastructure and expenses for the primary purpose of
20 supporting a company's location choice; and
 
21     WHEREAS, Some Illinois employers have recognized the
22 impact of housing and transit options on their employee
23 recruitment and retention, and in response, have implemented
24 low-cost programs that expand their employees' adequate
25 affordable housing and/or mass transit options, and the State
26 could promote these corporate models to encourage similar
27 efforts by other companies; therefore, be it
 
28     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
29 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
30 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Corporate

 

 

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1 Location Efficiency Task Force that shall hear testimony from
2 State agencies and private entities and shall be appointed as
3 follows: 4 voting members appointed from the House of
4 Representatives, with 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the
5 House of Representatives and 2 members appointed by the
6 Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, with the
7 majority caucus members serving at the pleasure of the Speaker
8 of the House of Representatives and the minority caucus members
9 serving at the pleasure of the Minority Leader of the House of
10 Representatives; 4 voting members appointed from the Senate,
11 with 2 members appointed by the President of the Senate and 2
12 members appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, with
13 majority caucus members serving at the pleasure of the
14 President of the Senate and the minority caucus members serving
15 at the pleasure of the Minority Leader of the Senate; and up to
16 12 non-voting members appointed from pertinent fields or
17 disciplines by the legislative members of the Task Force by
18 majority vote from the following categories: housing
19 advocates, transportation advocates, public interest groups,
20 labor, local municipalities, and businesses; a majority of the
21 legislative appointees shall select a legislative member of the
22 Task Force to serve as chairperson; and be it further
 
23     RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall study ways to maximize
24 the use of State economic development funds by encouraging
25 employers to locate or expand in areas that are or can be made
26 location efficient, and this study shall include the following:
 
27     (1) a series of hearings during which the Task Force takes
28 testimony from experts in areas such as economic development,
29 housing, transportation, and workforce development, as well as
30 key government agencies, labor, business, and other
31 stakeholders;
 
32     (2) a review of some of the Illinois employers, government
33 agencies and other institutions that have implemented

 

 

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1 cost-effective, innovative policies and programs to expand
2 employees' options for affordable housing near work and
3 convenient, efficient transportation to work;
 
4     (3) a proposal for how the State can highlight these
5 corporate models and encourage others to replicate successful
6 employee programs;
 
7     (4) an analysis of existing sources of data and information
8 such as the Census Data that can inform an employer about the
9 affordable housing and transportation options available to its
10 employees in a certain municipality or area; and
 
11     (5) a legislative proposal for using incentives to
12 encourage employers to locate or expand in location efficient
13 areas which shall include an analysis of characteristics such
14 as maximizing the use of existing public investments
15 infrastructure, minimizing additional government expenditures,
16 and locating near places offering affordable housing to that
17 employer's workforce or requiring short commutes; and be it
18 further
 
19     RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall receive the assistance
20 of legislative staff, legislative agencies, and upon request,
21 private and public organizations; and be it further
 
22     RESOLVED, That the Corporate Location Efficiency Task
23 Force shall be appointed by June 1, 2004, and shall meet as
24 soon as possible after the legislative members have been
25 appointed, shall hold public hearings, and shall report its
26 findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by filing
27 a copy of its report with the Secretary of the Senate and the
28 Clerk of the House of Representatives no later than January 1,
29 2005; upon filing its report, the Task Force is dissolved; and
30 be it further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be presented to
2 the Governor's office, the Director of Commerce and Economic
3 Opportunity, the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader
4 of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
5 the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.