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91_HR0719
LRB9113706JSpcA
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, McHenry County is one of the fastest growing
3 counties in Illinois and the eighth fastest growing in the
4 nation with a particularly heavy demand for internet access;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, On March 21, 2000, the voters in six communities
7 in McHenry County overwhelmingly approved a non-binding
8 ballot measure asking the Illinois General Assembly to pass
9 legislation requiring the improvement of telephone service in
10 the county; and
11 WHEREAS, The federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 (P.L.
12 104-104) has created a new regulatory framework whose
13 objectives are to increase consumer choice, lower consumer
14 prices, increase efficiency, promote technological advances,
15 and increase investment in developing information
16 infrastructure; and
17 WHEREAS, Through the federal telecommunications law and
18 through regulations established by the Federal Communications
19 Commission (FCC), states were given responsibility for
20 establishing and enforcing policies to further the goal of
21 competition in the local telephone market; and
22 WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly passed P.A.
23 90-0185 in 1997 which recognized passage of the federal
24 telecommunications law by authorizing the Illinois Commerce
25 Commission to (1) approve more than one company to provide
26 local telephone service, (2) use its initiative to
27 investigate and determine if services are properly classified
28 as competitive or noncompetitive, (3) order refunds for
29 overcharges, and (4) allow telephone companies to offer
30 packaged or bundled telecommunications services; therefore,
31 be it
-2- LRB9113706JSpcA
1 RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3 we respectfully urge the Illinois General Assembly to pass
4 legislation which establishes the following priorities for
5 telecommunications companies providing local phone service to
6 customers in villages and unincorporated areas in McHenry
7 County, Illinois, and directs the Illinois Commerce
8 Commission to require those telecommunications companies to
9 implement the following improvements and services:
10 Calling Area/Rate Structure - a company currently
11 providing local phone service will work with the Illinois
12 Commerce Commission to develop a local telephone calling
13 plan for an area up to 15 miles from a local exchange;
14 Enhanced Services and Value Packages - make the
15 following enhanced services available within 60 days:
16 caller ID, voice mail, *69, 3-way calling, call
17 forwarding, call waiting, repeat dialing, and see and
18 speed calling; Value packages which combine various
19 services should be offered to customers at a discount;
20 Community Involvement - a company currently
21 providing local phone service will become an active
22 member of the local business community;
23 Pay Telephones - a company currently providing local
24 phone service will delay its proposed plan to remove pay
25 telephones from prominent locations such as municipal
26 buildings;
27 Emergency Phone Number - a company providing local
28 phone service should identify a number which can be
29 called by municipal agencies, including police and fire
30 departments, during off-hours when phone service is
31 disrupted; and
-3- LRB9113706JSpcA
1 Infrastructure Spending - a company providing local
2 telephone service will make a commitment to work with
3 local units of government to identify areas where
4 infrastructure should be upgraded to provide modern
5 telephone service to customers with the company
6 identifying, on an annual basis, the amount to be spent
7 for infrastructure improvement as well as specific
8 projects to be completed; and be it further
9 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10 delivered to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House,
11 the President and Minority Leader of the Senate, the
12 Governor, the Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission,
13 and the Mayor or President of the Villages of Spring Grove,
14 Ringwood, Hebron, Greenwood, and Richmond, Illinois.