Full Text of HR1060 95th General Assembly
HR1060 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR1060 |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Amtrak service between Chicago, Homewood, | 3 |
| Kankakee, Gilman, Rantoul, Champaign-Urbana, Mattoon, | 4 |
| Effingham, Centralia, Du Quoin, and Carbondale is a vital | 5 |
| economic development tool; and
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| WHEREAS, The City of New Orleans train serves these | 7 |
| communities, as well as the communities of Fulton, Kentucky, | 8 |
| Newbern-Dyersburg, Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, Greenwood, | 9 |
| Mississippi, Yazoo City, Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi, | 10 |
| Hazlehurst, Mississippi, Brookhaven, Mississippi, McComb, | 11 |
| Mississippi, Hammond, Louisiana, and New Orleans, Louisiana | 12 |
| with one daily round trip; and
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| WHEREAS, The State of Illinois finances 2 additional daily | 14 |
| trains, the Illini and the Saluki, for a total of 3 daily round | 15 |
| trips; and
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| WHEREAS, Since the State of Illinois financed the second | 17 |
| daily round trip in 2006, ridership has grown at exceptional | 18 |
| rates, showing the enormous demand for the service; and
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| WHEREAS, Illinois is now a national model for Amtrak | 20 |
| expansion; and
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| WHEREAS, The tracks are owned and maintained by the | 2 |
| Canadian National Railway Company; and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, The Canadian National Railway Company has been a | 4 |
| responsible partner with Amtrak and the State of Illinois in | 5 |
| providing relatively on-time performance for Amtrak trains on | 6 |
| the route; and | 7 |
| WHEREAS, There is no direct connection between Canadian | 8 |
| National tracks and Chicago's Union Station, requiring Amtrak | 9 |
| trains to stop and then travel in a reverse direction at low | 10 |
| speeds into Chicago's Union Station; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, This lack of a direct connection causes travel | 12 |
| delays of 15 to 20 minutes; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS The additional 15 to 20 minutes of travel time is | 14 |
| the main reason why current Amtrak service is not faster than | 15 |
| driving for northbound travel; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, The additional 15 to 20 minutes of travel time | 17 |
| makes Amtrak service a less powerful economic development tool | 18 |
| for Illinois communities and particularly hurts the economic | 19 |
| progress of Southern and Central Illinois; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, The best method for eliminating this 15 to 20 |
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| minute delay is to build a rail interchange connection between | 2 |
| the Canadian National tracks and the Norfolk Southern tracks | 3 |
| near 76th Street in Chicago in an area known as Grand Crossing; | 4 |
| and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, Building the Grand Crossing interchange will | 6 |
| allow a direct connection for Amtrak trains to Chicago's Union | 7 |
| Station and eliminate the 15 to 20 minute delay; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, Canadian National has announced plans to purchase | 9 |
| the EJ&E Railway that loops through Chicago's suburbs; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, Such a purchase would eliminate the value of the | 11 |
| current track used by Amtrak from the area known as Grand | 12 |
| Crossing to Chicago's Union Station for Canadian National, | 13 |
| leading to its eventual abandonment; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, The cost of maintaining the track between 76th | 15 |
| Street and Chicago's Union Station would then be borne by | 16 |
| Amtrak at an unknown cost; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, Canadian National has filed a request with the | 18 |
| federal Surface Transportation Board seeking required approval | 19 |
| for this purchase of the EJ&E Railway; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, Federal regulators with the Surface |
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| Transportation Board are charged with considering the public | 2 |
| interest in deciding whether to approve or deny Canadian | 3 |
| National's proposed purchase of the EJ&E Railway; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, There are many other issues that affect Chicago | 5 |
| suburban communities regarding the proposed purchase by the | 6 |
| Canadian National of the EJ&E Railway, notable increased | 7 |
| freight traffic for many communities; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 9 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that it | 10 |
| is State policy that the 15 to 20 minute delay in Amtrak's | 11 |
| travel time be eliminated; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Grand Crossing Connection be built and | 13 |
| operational for Amtrak service as at least one condition before | 14 |
| federal regulators approve the purchase by Canadian National of | 15 |
| the EJ&E Railway; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Grand Crossing Connection be built and | 17 |
| operational before the St. Charles Air Line is ever dismantled; | 18 |
| and be it further | 19 |
| RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be presented to | 20 |
| the mayors of each of the communities served by the City of New | 21 |
| Orleans, the Illini, and the Saluki trains, the Surface |
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| Transportation Board, the governors and legislative leaders of | 2 |
| the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee, | 3 |
| and the congressional delegations of the states of Louisiana, | 4 |
| Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Illinois.
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