Full Text of HR0538 103rd General Assembly
HR0538 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | HR0538 | | LRB103 36204 MST 66297 r |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The United States government, led by former | 3 | | President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in collaboration with state | 4 | | governments created an immense network of interstate highways | 5 | | that linked the vast majority of the nation in meaningful ways | 6 | | through the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The construction of the interstate highway system | 8 | | was declared completed in 1992 after 36 years of construction | 9 | | and $114 billion spent, which is equivalent to $558 billion in | 10 | | 2021; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, The United States government paid for 90% of the | 12 | | expressways while states provided the remaining 10%; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, In exchange for providing the vast majority of | 14 | | the funding, the United States government dictated the route | 15 | | of the interstate highway system; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, With this control of the layout, the United | 17 | | States government focused the route through dense metropolitan | 18 | | and urban areas; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Although the interstate highway system radically | 20 | | connected populations, underprivileged communities have been |
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| 1 | | bifurcated and isolated by its creation and the route | 2 | | placement; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, The federal Department of Transportation | 4 | | estimates that 475,000 households and more than one million | 5 | | people were displaced nationwide because of federally funded | 6 | | roadway construction; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, This separation has resulted in a long list of | 8 | | unintended consequences, including, but not limited to, the | 9 | | creation of gang turfs, loss of community spaces, the | 10 | | separation of families, negative economic impacts, and a | 11 | | profound emotional footprint; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Illinois played a role in the funding of the | 13 | | interstate highway system; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Illinois has the mandate to rectify inequity when | 15 | | it presents itself; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Numerous cities across the nation have | 17 | | successfully employed expressway lids to correct the | 18 | | unfairness of the placement of the interstate highway system | 19 | | and capture its many benefits; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Expressway lids provide a cost efficient way to |
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| 1 | | reconnect communities healthily and efficiently; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Expressway lids also provide an opportunity to | 3 | | create more space for the construction of parks, community | 4 | | centers, water storage, and housing while reducing both air | 5 | | and noise pollution; therefore, be it | 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 7 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 8 | | we recognize the need to reunite these communities split by | 9 | | the creation of the interstate highway system; and be it | 10 | | further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That we recognize the importance of expressway | 12 | | lids as a partial solution to that problem; and be it further | 13 | | RESOLVED, That the State of Illinois should utilize | 14 | | federal resources, in partnership with state agencies and | 15 | | local entities, to begin reconnecting these communities with, | 16 | | among other things, expressway lids. |
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