Full Text of HR0267 100th General Assembly
HR0267 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The first total solar eclipse to occur along a | 3 | | path across the entire continental United States since 1918 | 4 | | will
occur on August 21, 2017; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The point of greatest duration for the eclipse on | 6 | | August 21, 2017 will occur along a line of totality
stretching | 7 | | northwest to southeast across Southern Illinois; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, A second total solar eclipse will occur seven | 9 | | years later on April 8, 2024, with a line of totality | 10 | | stretching
southwest to northeast across Southern Illinois; | 11 | | and | 12 | | WHEREAS, The centerline of totality for both eclipses will | 13 | | intersect in Jackson County, just a few miles south of
| 14 | | Carbondale; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which is | 16 | | ranked among the top 5% of all United States higher education | 17 | | institutions for research, will host public educational events
| 18 | | and activities in cooperation with NASA, the Adler Planetarium, | 19 | | and other top scientists and
institutions from around the | 20 | | world, providing an environment for quality outreach, | 21 | | research,
and citizen science on the 2017 and 2024 eclipses; |
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| 1 | | and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Eclipse outreach events and activities at | 3 | | Southern Illinois University Carbondale are
aligned with the | 4 | | Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics | 5 | | Strategic Plan,
most closely relating to implementation in the | 6 | | areas of: increase and sustain youth and public
engagement in | 7 | | STEM, enhance STEM experience of undergraduate students, | 8 | | better serve
groups historically underrepresented in STEM | 9 | | fields; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Southern Illinois University Carbondale through | 11 | | the Southern Illinois Eclipse 2017 -
2024 steering committee is | 12 | | providing educational assistance to K-12 school districts in | 13 | | the path
of the eclipse; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Roughly 250,000 visitors are estimated to travel | 15 | | to areas within a 100-mile radius of the
intersection of | 16 | | eclipse totality in Southern Illinois on or about August 21, | 17 | | 2017 and April 8, 2024
to experience the total solar eclipses; | 18 | | and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, The influx of visitors to Southern Illinois to | 20 | | view each eclipse will provide much-needed,
long-term economic | 21 | | opportunity for the Southern 16 counties of Illinois; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The total solar eclipses on August 21, 2017 and | 2 | | April 8, 2024 will provide unique opportunities to
showcase the | 3 | | scenic, natural, historic, recreational, archeological, and | 4 | | cultural resources of Southern Illinois; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Due to the anticipated 250,000 visitors to | 6 | | Southern Illinois to view the eclipse, there is
an urgent need | 7 | | to direct resources to the region to support entrepreneurship, | 8 | | job creation,
hospitality training, heritage tourism, | 9 | | workforce development, infrastructure, and disaster
response; | 10 | | therefore, be it
| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 12 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 13 | | designate Southern
Illinois as the "Eclipse Crossroads of | 14 | | America" and August 21, 2017 as "Great American Eclipse
Day | 15 | | 2017"; and be it further | 16 | | RESOLVED, That we encourage the development of a marketing | 17 | | plan for regional branding
around the solar eclipses and | 18 | | general regional tourism and economic development in Southern
| 19 | | Illinois that coordinates and leverages investment by federal, | 20 | | State and local governmental
entities, private business, | 21 | | non-profits and non-governmental organizations that support
| 22 | | development of a regional organization to ensure sustainable, | 23 | | long-term economic
development that balances meeting immediate |
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| 1 | | needs with dedicating resources to strategic
and long-term | 2 | | goals.
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