Full Text of HJR0126 96th General Assembly
HJ0126 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The towns of Centralia and Mt. Vernon are home to | 3 | | more than 30,000 Illinois citizens who have been plagued with | 4 | | an ever-increasing number of traffic delays caused by railroad | 5 | | trains that block traffic crossings; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Both towns have numerous street-level grade | 7 | | crossings that are regularly blocked by trains; there are also | 8 | | 2 State of Illinois highway crossings in Centralia and 6 | 9 | | highway crossings in Mt. Vernon, which have created large-scale | 10 | | delays for a higher number of commuters; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, These delays could have profound public health and | 12 | | safety aspects, should a person requiring urgent health care be | 13 | | confined to an emergency response vehicle that is tied up at a | 14 | | street-level railroad grade crossing; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, A sharp, curving section of railroad right-of-way | 16 | | leading into Centralia from the south causes some of the most | 17 | | extreme delays, where the maximum speed allowed on the rails is | 18 | | only 10 miles per hour; the grade crossings for these tracks | 19 | | are frequented by both motor vehicle commuters and | 20 | | approximately 40 freight trains a day; with some railroad | 21 | | trains being almost one mile long, motorists must wait for many | 22 | | minutes to cross the tracks; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The residents of the affected towns have spoken | 2 | | out against these aforementioned delays for over a decade in | 3 | | city council meetings and town forums alike and have called for | 4 | | rerouting of rail lines to reduce these delays and health | 5 | | hazards in their daily lives; the municipalities of Centralia | 6 | | and Wamac have both passed resolutions to support this route | 7 | | change; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Two potential routes have been identified for the | 9 | | potential route relocation; both routes involve an investment | 10 | | in new track and are promising to unclog the bottleneck areas | 11 | | located in the towns of Centralia and Mt. Vernon; therefore, be | 12 | | it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 14 | | NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 15 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recognize and offer our | 16 | | support for the citizens of Clinton County, Jefferson County, | 17 | | Marion County, and Washington County, in and around the | 18 | | municipalities of Centralia and Mount Vernon, in their ongoing | 19 | | effort to develop a plan to reroute train traffic and prevent | 20 | | delays due to train crossings in and around the towns of | 21 | | Centralia and Mt. Vernon; and be it further
| 22 | | RESOLVED, That we encourage the Illinois Department of |
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| 1 | | Transportation, the Illinois Commerce Commission, and the | 2 | | affected railroads to work with the citizens of these | 3 | | communities to find a timely solution to this issue; and be it | 4 | | further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 6 | | presented to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the | 7 | | Illinois Commerce Commission, U.S. Congressman John Shimkus, | 8 | | U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, State Representative John Cavaletto, | 9 | | State Senator John O. Jones, Mayor Becky Ault of Centralia, and | 10 | | Mayor Mary Jane Chesley of Mt. Vernon.
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