Full Text of SR0639 98th General Assembly
SR0639 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning is | 3 | | currently updating its GOTO2040 master plan as part of a | 4 | | federally-required mid-decade update; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, A new initiative for first-class passenger rail | 6 | | service called Crossrail Chicago has emerged which would, for | 7 | | the first time, connect Metra route lines together, knitting | 8 | | together the Chicagoland region; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Metra currently runs 11 separate lines, each of | 10 | | which terminates in downtown Chicago; these lines do not travel | 11 | | through downtown Chicago, a route which would be far more | 12 | | efficient; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Northeast Illinois has long suffered from a | 14 | | jobs-housing mismatch, where tens of thousands of entry-level | 15 | | jobs in and around O'Hare airport and the northwest suburbs | 16 | | struggle to be filled, while tens of thousands of residents of | 17 | | the south side and south suburbs struggle to find employment; | 18 | | and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Current public transportation between the south | 20 | | suburbs and the south side of Chicago and the northwest suburbs | 21 | | is a long, laborious journey involving transfers between buses |
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| 1 | | and rail, creating a greater barrier to full employment in the | 2 | | region; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, This initiative is consistent with the long-term | 4 | | vision for northeastern Illinois set forth by the Chicago | 5 | | Metropolitan Agency for Planning; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Crossrail Chicago could connect Rockford, Elgin, | 7 | | Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, and O'Hare | 8 | | through Union Station to McCormick Place, Hyde Park, Homewood, | 9 | | University Park, the south suburban airport, Kankakee, and | 10 | | Champaign-Urbana in one electrified track; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The new electrified line of Crossrail Chicago | 12 | | would be located largely on publicly-owned rights-of-way and | 13 | | could bring tremendous economic benefits to the region and | 14 | | State; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Metra service along the metro electric line from | 16 | | University Park to McCormick Place could be significantly | 17 | | improved through the Crossrail Chicago initiative; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Crossrail Chicago can also serve as the trunk of a | 19 | | Midwest high-speed rail network, which would bring millions of | 20 | | people together into one stronger economic unit; therefore, be | 21 | | it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 2 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Chicago | 3 | | Metropolitan Agency for Planning to include Crossrail Chicago | 4 | | in its list of fiscally unconstrained projects as consistent | 5 | | with the GOTO2040 vision, making the projects of Crossrail | 6 | | Chicago eligible for federal funds; and be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Department of | 8 | | Transportation, Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority, and the | 9 | | Chicago Department of Aviation to support the inclusion of | 10 | | Crossrail Chicago as part of GOTO2040's mid-decade update as a | 11 | | project on the fiscally unconstrained list as consistent with | 12 | | the long-term plans of those agencies; and be it further | 13 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 14 | | delivered to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the | 15 | | Illinois Department of Transportation, Metra, the Chicago | 16 | | Transit Authority, and the Chicago Department of Aviation.
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