093_HR0298
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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway is one of
3 the most magnificent natural treasures on Earth, holding
4 nearly 20 percent of the planet's and 95 percent of the
5 United States' fresh surface water supply; and
6 WHEREAS, The nearly 40 million people who live in the
7 Great Lakes Basin rely on its water for drinking, fish for
8 food, and revenue from international tourism; and
9 WHEREAS, The Great Lakes have attracted a diverse base of
10 industry for national economic growth, including major global
11 centers for steel, paper, and automotive production; and
12 WHEREAS, Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake wholly
13 within the United States, with 63 miles of shoreline in
14 Illinois; and
15 WHEREAS, Lake Michigan is a major tourist and
16 recreational attraction in Illinois, including Illinois Beach
17 State Park, one of the most heavily visited public parks in
18 the country; Chicago's lakefront, which receives an estimated
19 60 million visits annually that contribute to the $14 billion
20 per year in tourism expenditures in the city per year; and
21 numerous public beaches; and
22 WHEREAS, The region's waters have undergone decades of
23 degradation, including high rates of wetland losses; and
24 WHEREAS, There are more than 1,500 fish consumption
25 advisories in the Great Lakes states, which limit the type
26 and amount of fish that women and others can eat, because
27 toxic industrial chemicals continue to bioaccumulate in the
28 Great Lakes food chain; and
29 WHEREAS, Bacteria from sewage overflows continue to
30 restrict swimming and other forms of recreation that draw
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1 millions of tourism dollars to Illinois per year; and
2 WHEREAS, Twenty percent of the Great Lakes shoreline
3 remains polluted with toxic sediments; and
4 WHEREAS, Seventy percent of the water-purifying wetlands
5 in the Great Lakes Basin have been destroyed by development;
6 and
7 WHEREAS, Invasive species threaten to damage the Great
8 Lakes ecosystem by competing with native plants and animals;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, The Great Lakes are home to more than 100
11 globally significant habitats that are imperiled and/or rare;
12 and
13 WHEREAS, An increasingly thirsty world threatens to
14 deplete the Great Lakes waters, of which only one percent is
15 replenished each year by rainwater and snowmelt; and
16 WHEREAS, There are many other ecological threats that can
17 harm the economy, public health, and environment in the Great
18 Lakes Basin; therefore, be it
19 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
21 Congress is urged to establish a Great Lakes Trust Fund that
22 will be utilized to assist in funding the restoration of the
23 Great Lakes ecosystems in order to provide a healthy natural
24 environment for people and wildlife, including safe drinking
25 water, fish that are safe to eat, and quality natural habits;
26 a thriving economy, including tourism and commercial fishing;
27 and ample recreation opportunities, including beaches that
28 are open for swimming; and be it further
29 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be delivered to
30 each of the members of the Illinois delegation to the United
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1 States Congress.