HJ0139 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0139 LRB100 22392 ALS 41278 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Illinois and Chicago are known as the nation's rail hub, and pursuant to data provided by the Metropolitan Planning Council, the Chicago region serves as a national east-west gateway for six of the seven major Class I railroads that transport approximately 25 percent of all U.S. freight rail traffic and 44 percent of all U.S. intermodal "container" units, totaling more than 1.3 million loaded rail cars annually; and

WHEREAS, Metra operates 691 weekday trains, stopping at 241 stations on 11 rail lines in the Chicago region; and

WHEREAS, Amtrak operates a nationwide rail network, serving more than 500 destinations in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and three Canadian provinces on more than 21,400 miles of routes, with Chicago serving as a major hub for most of their interstate services; and

WHEREAS, These activities provide vital transit services for residents of Illinois, Illinois commerce, and the nation; and

WHEREAS, Actual and projected growth in rail freight, Metra, and Amtrak service continues to put pressure on existing Illinois rail systems, often creating higher congestion and reduced safety when passengers and freight share the same rail lines; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Transportation participated in a nine-state planning effort that resulted in publication of the Midwest Regional Rail System (MWRRS) executive report in September 2004, which outlines steps to improve regional rail mobility and stimulate economic development at an estimated budget of $7.7 billion, and it is unclear what impact has been achieved; and

WHEREAS, The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) mandates a process to use either an Environmental Assessment or a more comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement to collect data, evaluate impacts, review alternatives, and propose project solutions; and

WHEREAS, One of the current rail projects being studied is an Environmental Assessment of proposed improvements to the Chicago-Milwaukee Intercity Passenger Rail Program; the improvements are estimated to cost $195 million plus the increased annual operating expenses of adding three daily round trips to the Amtrak Hiawatha service; and

WHEREAS, Several communities, including the Village of Glenview and the City of Lake Forest, have expressed strong concerns about this Environmental Assessment's lack of data and missing analyses of potential impacts of and alternatives to freight train holding tracks, noise, vibrations, releases into the air to adjacent residential areas, hospital, schools, and rare nature preserves; and

WHEREAS, It is in the public's best interest to fully evaluate the benefits and impacts of rail projects in Illinois prior to seeking public funding and agency permitting for such projects; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, That in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and in support of potentially impacted communities in Illinois, all proposed Illinois rail projects with new freight train holding tracks adjacent to residential areas, including the current Chicago-Milwaukee Intercity Passenger Rail Program described above, shall receive full Environmental Impact Statement reviews; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation shall pursue options to eliminate or minimize the routing of bypass freight traffic through the Chicago metropolitan area, including prioritizing the review and study of rail bypass systems around Chicago that would ensure coastal rail traffic not destined for Chicago could more efficiently bypass the Chicago region and significantly reduce the negative impacts of freight rail in the highest populated areas of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation and the Illinois Department of Transportation.