Full Text of SJR0075 94th General Assembly
SJ0075 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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SJ0075 |
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The Chicago Regional Environmental and | 3 |
| Transportation Efficiency Program, also known as CREATE, would | 4 |
| increase the capacity of the Chicago metropolitan rail network, | 5 |
| remove major freight and passenger rail bottlenecks, and | 6 |
| provide numerous benefits to the citizens and economy of the | 7 |
| State of Illinois; and
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| WHEREAS, Chicago is the nation's busiest, most important, | 9 |
| and most congested rail hub, and demand for freight rail | 10 |
| service in Chicago is expected to nearly double over the next | 11 |
| twenty years, further worsening highway and rail congestion; | 12 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, CREATE is a public private-partnership through | 14 |
| which the federal government, the State of Illinois, the city | 15 |
| of Chicago, and the freight and passenger railroads serving | 16 |
| Chicago are expected collectively to invest $1.5 billion over | 17 |
| six to ten years to address worsening congestion problems; and
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| WHEREAS, Implementation of the CREATE Program would | 19 |
| provide benefits to the State of Illinois that far exceed the | 20 |
| costs of the program, including: at least $595 million in | 21 |
| benefits related to motorists, rail passengers, and safety; air | 22 |
| quality improvements valued at $1.1 billion; | 23 |
| construction-related benefits totaling $2.2 billion; highway | 24 |
| construction savings of at least $77 million; more than 2,700 | 25 |
| full-time construction jobs; and $365 million in purchases of | 26 |
| materials and services; and
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| WHEREAS, The federal SAFETEA-LU transportation bill | 28 |
| authorized $100 million for CREATE; and
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| WHEREAS, Privately owned railroad companies have committed | 30 |
| to contributing private capital commensurate with the private |
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| benefits of the CREATE Program, as much as $212 million for the | 2 |
| entire CREATE Program, and Metra has committed to contributing | 3 |
| $20 million; and
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| WHEREAS, State funding of its share of CREATE will leverage | 5 |
| substantially higher levels of funding from the federal | 6 |
| government; and
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| WHEREAS, These investments in the CREATE Program will | 8 |
| produce substantial State, regional, and national benefits | 9 |
| that far outweigh costs of the plan; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 11 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 12 |
| CONCURRING HEREIN, that implementation of CREATE will provide | 13 |
| major benefits to the citizens and economy of the State of | 14 |
| Illinois by providing more jobs and a better quality of life | 15 |
| for Illinois residents; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Governor, the Illinois General | 17 |
| Assembly, the city of Chicago, the passenger and freight rail | 18 |
| industry, and all CREATE partners should maximize the CREATE | 19 |
| projects that can be constructed with the federal funds | 20 |
| dedicated for CREATE in the federal SAFETEA-LU transportation | 21 |
| bill; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That because of the benefits of the CREATE | 23 |
| Program, it should continue to be one of the highest priorities | 24 |
| of the State of Illinois, and the next State capital program | 25 |
| should fully fund the State's portion of CREATE; and be it | 26 |
| further | 27 |
| RESOLVED, That because the benefits of CREATE will extend | 28 |
| beyond Illinois to the entire nation, the U.S. Congress should | 29 |
| provide the full federal share for implementation of the CREATE | 30 |
| plan in its next federal transportation authorization bill; and |
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| be it further | 2 |
| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 3 |
| delivered to the President of the United States, the President | 4 |
| pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the U.S. House | 5 |
| of Representatives, and each Member of the Illinois | 6 |
| congressional delegation.
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