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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is the rail capital of the | ||||||
| 3 | United States; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, The Union Pacific Railroad has more than 2,300 | ||||||
| 5 | miles of track in the State, traversing hundreds of | ||||||
| 6 | communities; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Union Pacific maintains rail yards throughout the | ||||||
| 8 | State located in the cities of Chicago, Bellwood, Berkeley, | ||||||
| 9 | Melrose Park, Northlake, Dolton, Chicago Heights, Rochelle, | ||||||
| 10 | West Chicago, Dupo, and Salem; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Union Pacific's Commuter Operations Service Unit | ||||||
| 12 | provides rail service to more than 105,000 commuters daily on | ||||||
| 13 | the Union Pacific Metra North, Northwest, and West Lines, and | ||||||
| 14 | operates more trains for Metra than any other carrier in the | ||||||
| 15 | Chicagoland area; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Union Pacific has invested more than $1 billion in | ||||||
| 17 | Illinois since 2010; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, Union Pacific has more than 4,000 employees in the | ||||||
| 19 | State with an annual payroll of $344.7 million; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Union Pacific partners with the State of Illinois | ||||||
| 2 | on a number of public private partnerships, such as the CREATE | ||||||
| 3 | Program, UP Metra West Line Improvement Project, and the | ||||||
| 4 | Illinois High Speed Rail Project; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Nothing is more important to the nation's | ||||||
| 6 | passenger and freight railroads than safety; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Union Pacific's commitment to safety is reflected | ||||||
| 8 | in Federal Railroad Administration statistics which find that | ||||||
| 9 | from 1980 to 2013, train accident rates fell by 79%, employee | ||||||
| 10 | injury rates fell by 84%, and grade crossing collision rates | ||||||
| 11 | fell by 81%; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Union Pacific's focus on safety extends far beyond | ||||||
| 13 | the railroad's 44,000 employees and 32,000 mile rail network; | ||||||
| 14 | it also includes the communities where trains operate; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, 2016 marks the second consecutive year Union | ||||||
| 16 | Pacific was the top-performing railroad in employee safety; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Union Pacific's Commuter Operations Service Unit | ||||||
| 18 | was recently awarded the "Union Pacific Safety Bell", which | ||||||
| 19 | recognizes the safest service unit, Union Pacific's 23-state | ||||||
| 20 | network; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Union Pacific is one of the safest railroads in | ||||||
| 2 | the country and has achieved its best annual employee safety | ||||||
| 3 | performance in the company's 154-year history; therefore, be it
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| 4 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 5 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 6 | congratulate the Union Pacific Railroad on its exemplary safety | ||||||
| 7 | record, its achievements, and its focus on communities; and be | ||||||
| 8 | it further
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| 9 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 10 | presented to the Union Pacific Railroad as a symbol of our | ||||||
| 11 | respect and esteem.
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