HR0267 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0267 LRB100 12049 MST 24119 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The first total solar eclipse to occur along a path across the entire continental United States since 1918 will occur on August 21, 2017; and

WHEREAS, The point of greatest duration for the eclipse on August 21, 2017 will occur along a line of totality stretching northwest to southeast across Southern Illinois; and

WHEREAS, A second total solar eclipse will occur seven years later on April 8, 2024, with a line of totality stretching southwest to northeast across Southern Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The centerline of totality for both eclipses will intersect in Jackson County, just a few miles south of Carbondale; and

WHEREAS, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which is ranked among the top 5% of all United States higher education institutions for research, will host public educational events and activities in cooperation with NASA, the Adler Planetarium, and other top scientists and institutions from around the world, providing an environment for quality outreach, research, and citizen science on the 2017 and 2024 eclipses; and

WHEREAS, Eclipse outreach events and activities at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are aligned with the Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Strategic Plan, most closely relating to implementation in the areas of: increase and sustain youth and public engagement in STEM, enhance STEM experience of undergraduate students, better serve groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields; and

WHEREAS, Southern Illinois University Carbondale through the Southern Illinois Eclipse 2017 - 2024 steering committee is providing educational assistance to K-12 school districts in the path of the eclipse; and

WHEREAS, Roughly 250,000 visitors are estimated to travel to areas within a 100-mile radius of the intersection of eclipse totality in Southern Illinois on or about August 21, 2017 and April 8, 2024 to experience the total solar eclipses; and

WHEREAS, The influx of visitors to Southern Illinois to view each eclipse will provide much-needed, long-term economic opportunity for the Southern 16 counties of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The total solar eclipses on August 21, 2017 and April 8, 2024 will provide unique opportunities to showcase the scenic, natural, historic, recreational, archeological, and cultural resources of Southern Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Due to the anticipated 250,000 visitors to Southern Illinois to view the eclipse, there is an urgent need to direct resources to the region to support entrepreneurship, job creation, hospitality training, heritage tourism, workforce development, infrastructure, and disaster response; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we designate Southern Illinois as the "Eclipse Crossroads of America" and August 21, 2017 as "Great American Eclipse Day 2017"; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage the development of a marketing plan for regional branding around the solar eclipses and general regional tourism and economic development in Southern Illinois that coordinates and leverages investment by federal, State and local governmental entities, private business, non-profits and non-governmental organizations that support development of a regional organization to ensure sustainable, long-term economic development that balances meeting immediate needs with dedicating resources to strategic and long-term goals.