Bill Text: IL SR0050 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges support for Rails-to-Trails projects to make a reality of connecting Americans from coast to coast and from Chicago to all of Illinois through the marvelous trails of our nation and State.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2023-05-19 - Resolution Adopted [SR0050 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-SR0050-Introduced.html
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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Millions of Americans have discovered the joys of | ||||||
| 3 | walking, running, hiking, and cycling the rapidly expanding | ||||||
| 4 | trails that crisscross our great nation; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Central Illinois is at the heart of and is a | ||||||
| 6 | critical link for the 6,800-mile American Discovery Trail, the | ||||||
| 7 | 3,700-mile Great American Rail-Trail, and the 535-mile Grand | ||||||
| 8 | Illinois Trail; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, The Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage | ||||||
| 10 | Area and the Illinois Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park almost | ||||||
| 11 | reach from Chicagoland to the Mississippi River, aside from a | ||||||
| 12 | 15.7-mile gap between the City of LaSalle and the Village of | ||||||
| 13 | Bureau in central Illinois, along the scenic Illinois River; | ||||||
| 14 | and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, When this 15.7-mile gap becomes a trail along | ||||||
| 16 | existing rail lines, these great and grand trails from the | ||||||
| 17 | Atlantic to the Pacific and across Illinois will be, in | ||||||
| 18 | essence, linked at their center here in America's Heartland; | ||||||
| 19 | and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Leading citizens and organizations in central | ||||||
| 21 | Illinois and Washington, D.C. have come together to work to | ||||||
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| 1 | connect this "missing link" in our trails systems, including | ||||||
| 2 | the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the National | ||||||
| 3 | Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Washington, D.C.; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, There are also a number of supportive community | ||||||
| 5 | leaders and officials all along the 200 miles of the Hennepin | ||||||
| 6 | and I&M Canals, including Senator Win Stoller, Senator Sue | ||||||
| 7 | Rezin, former member of Congress and U.S. Secretary of | ||||||
| 8 | Transportation and current U.S. Rails-to-Trails Hall of Famer | ||||||
| 9 | Ray LaHood, former Mayor of Ottawa Robert Eschbach, La Moille | ||||||
| 10 | School District Superintendent Jay McCracken, Inga Carus, | ||||||
| 11 | Chairman, Carus LLC, community leader Todd Volker, and many | ||||||
| 12 | others; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Further proponents and supporters of | ||||||
| 14 | Rails-to-Trails projects include Democrats and Republicans, | ||||||
| 15 | governments and nonprofits, and citizens all across central | ||||||
| 16 | Illinois; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Significant funding has been appropriated for | ||||||
| 18 | Rails-to-Trails projects in the 2022 U.S. Surface | ||||||
| 19 | Transportation Act; therefore, be it
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| 20 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | ||||||
| 21 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we enthusiastically | ||||||
| 22 | support Rails-to-Trails projects to make a reality of | ||||||
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| 1 | connecting Americans from coast to coast and from Chicago to | ||||||
| 2 | all of Illinois through the marvelous trails of our nation and | ||||||
| 3 | State.
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