Full Text of SJR0040 97th General Assembly
SJ0040 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Interstate 64 is a major thoroughfare in the | 3 | | United States interstate system of roads which, in part, | 4 | | connects rural Southern Illinois with St. Louis, Missouri; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, On November 23, 2007, the day after Thanksgiving, | 6 | | Jessica and Kelli Uhl were traveling home from visiting with | 7 | | their father and stepmother; while traveling on Interstate 64 | 8 | | in heavy traffic, the girls were struck by an oncoming Illinois | 9 | | State Police vehicle that was traveling at an estimated speed | 10 | | of 126 miles per hour; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The trooper operating the vehicle at this high | 12 | | rate of speed was reportedly using his onboard computer and | 13 | | cellular phone when he crossed the median and struck the girls' | 14 | | car; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Both 18 year old Jessica and 13 year old Kelli | 16 | | were killed in the crash; a pregnant woman and her husband in | 17 | | another vehicle were also struck and sustained injuries; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, The State trooper was convicted of 2 felony counts | 19 | | of reckless homicide in the deaths of Jessica and Kelli, and 2 | 20 | | felony counts of aggravated reckless driving resulting from the | 21 | | injuries to the other couple involved in the accident; as a |
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| 1 | | result of the felony convictions he was forced to resign from | 2 | | his position as a State trooper and had his driver's license | 3 | | revoked for 24 months; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The girls' mother, Kim Schlau, has left her career | 5 | | to focus on promoting awareness of the dangers of distracted | 6 | | driving and now works with recruit classes and police | 7 | | organizations around the country; her goal is to offer a | 8 | | personal account of the repercussions and dangers of negligent | 9 | | pursuit driving in an effort to educate officers and first | 10 | | responders, and prevent these tragedies from happening to other | 11 | | families; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Since the accident, the Illinois State Police have | 13 | | limited the use of personal cellular telephones by on-duty | 14 | | troopers and have implemented a four-tier system specifying how | 15 | | fast troopers may travel while responding to emergency calls; | 16 | | and | 17 | | WHEREAS, A memorial has been placed on Highway 158 in honor | 18 | | of Jessica and Kelli under the fatal accident memorial marker | 19 | | program; the memorial contains Jessica and Kelli's names and | 20 | | admonishes drivers that "Reckless Driving Costs Lives"; | 21 | | however, the sign is not visible from Interstate 64 and will be | 22 | | removed in 2 years unless legislation is passed to make the | 23 | | memorials permanent; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, It is fitting that this body join in honoring the | 2 | | memory of Jessica and Kelli Uhl and in promoting awareness of | 3 | | the dangers of reckless driving; therefore, be it | 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 5 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 6 | | CONCURRING HEREIN, that the section of Interstate 64 between | 7 | | Exit 19A at Illinois Route 158 and Exit 23 at Illinois Route 4 | 8 | | be renamed the Jessica and Kelli Uhl Memorial Highway; and be | 9 | | it further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation | 11 | | is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with | 12 | | State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs | 13 | | giving notice of the name of the Jessica and Kelli Uhl Memorial | 14 | | Highway; and be it further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 16 | | presented to the Secretary of the Illinois Department of | 17 | | Transportation and to the family of Jessica and Kelli Uhl.
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