Bill Text: IL HR0437 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Opposes the Great Lakes Basin Transportation, Inc. proposed rail line that would run through Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 9-2)
Status: (Passed) 2017-06-29 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Tony McCombie [HR0437 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HR0437-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, On May 1, 2017, Great Lakes Basin Transportation,
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| 3 | Inc. (GLBT) filed a formal application with the Federal Surface
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| 4 | Transportation Board (STB) to construct and operate a private | ||||||
| 5 | rail line
running through Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, This application calls for a 260 mile privately
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| 7 | owned and operated railway that would cut through many
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| 8 | individuals homes and farmland; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, The use of eminent domain in our State and our
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| 10 | nation is to provide land for public use in appropriate
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| 11 | instances, it is not for private gain; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, If the plan were imposed in its current form,
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| 13 | Grundy County and Kankakee County would lose an estimated $70
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| 14 | million and $90 million per year respectively in agricultural
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| 15 | revenue that could never be replaced; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, The GLBT railway is facing bipartisan opposition
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| 17 | from elected officials across three states as well as by
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| 18 | certain public railroads; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, The GLBT railway improperly damages the rights of
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| 20 | property owners who rightfully own the land in its path,
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| 1 | endangers the Kankakee River and local wildlife and habitats,
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| 2 | and tears apart the communities who depend on that land; | ||||||
| 3 | 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 | strongly urge against the Great Lakes Basin Transportation, | ||||||
| 7 | Inc. (GLBT) railway due to the fiscal, ethical, and | ||||||
| 8 | environmental strain it would put on the counties this railway | ||||||
| 9 | goes through; and be it further
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| 10 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 11 | delivered to the Federal Surface Transportation Board.
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