Full Text of HJR0044 94th General Assembly
HJ0044 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Illinois has the second largest number of highway | 3 |
| grade crossings in the United States: 8,524 public grade level | 4 |
| crossings; 2,733 grade-separated crossings; 281 pedestrian | 5 |
| grade crossings; and 76 pedestrian grade separated crossings; | 6 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, In the United States, approximately every 2 hours | 8 |
| a collision occurs between a train and a vehicle, train and a | 9 |
| bicyclist, or a train and a pedestrian; and
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| WHEREAS, Each year in Illinois, approximately 50 people are | 11 |
| killed and another 50 are injured in grade crossing collisions | 12 |
| or while trespassing on railroad property; and
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| WHEREAS, In 2004 alone, there were 58 fatalities at | 14 |
| railroad grade crossings in Illinois; and
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| WHEREAS, A person is 40 times more likely to die in a | 16 |
| collision with a train than in a collision involving another | 17 |
| motor vehicle; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 19 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 20 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Railroad | 21 |
| Crossing Safety Task Force, consisting of thirteen members | 22 |
| appointed as follows: the Speaker of the House of | 23 |
| Representatives, the President of the Senate, the Minority | 24 |
| Leader of the House of Representatives, and the Minority Leader | 25 |
| of the Senate shall each appoint one member of the General | 26 |
| Assembly and two members of the general public; in addition, | 27 |
| the Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission or his or her | 28 |
| designee shall be a member of the Task Force; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That after the members are appointed, the Task |
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| Force shall meet and select a member of the Task Force as | 2 |
| Chairperson; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the members of the general pubic shall | 4 |
| represent the following associations, organizations, and | 5 |
| interests: educational institutions, engineering consultants, | 6 |
| insurance industry, municipal corporations, non-profit rail | 7 |
| safety organizations, federal and local governmental entities, | 8 |
| and the railroad industry; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall meet as necessary to | 10 |
| review and evaluate the complex issues involving rail grade | 11 |
| crossing safety, especially for pedestrians and bicyclists in | 12 |
| Illinois; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall study and evaluate the | 14 |
| following: advanced rail safety technology, warning devices | 15 |
| and guided transportation systems, the Federal Railroad | 16 |
| Administration's Interim Final Rule regarding sounding train | 17 |
| horns at rail grade crossings, ambiguity over jurisdiction of | 18 |
| pedestrian right of way, utilization of State and federal funds | 19 |
| for crossing protection, and to what extent pedestrian and | 20 |
| bicyclist safety at rail grade crossings is addressed in the | 21 |
| current educational materials and programming regarding rail | 22 |
| safety in Illinois; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report its findings and | 24 |
| recommendations to the General Assembly by July 1, 2006; and be | 25 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be sent | 27 |
| to the Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission.
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