HR0538 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0538 LRB103 36204 MST 66297 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The United States government, led by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in collaboration with state governments created an immense network of interstate highways that linked the vast majority of the nation in meaningful ways through the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956; and

WHEREAS, The construction of the interstate highway system was declared completed in 1992 after 36 years of construction and $114 billion spent, which is equivalent to $558 billion in 2021; and

WHEREAS, The United States government paid for 90% of the expressways while states provided the remaining 10%; and

WHEREAS, In exchange for providing the vast majority of the funding, the United States government dictated the route of the interstate highway system; and

WHEREAS, With this control of the layout, the United States government focused the route through dense metropolitan and urban areas; and

WHEREAS, Although the interstate highway system radically connected populations, underprivileged communities have been bifurcated and isolated by its creation and the route placement; and

WHEREAS, The federal Department of Transportation estimates that 475,000 households and more than one million people were displaced nationwide because of federally funded roadway construction; and

WHEREAS, This separation has resulted in a long list of unintended consequences, including, but not limited to, the creation of gang turfs, loss of community spaces, the separation of families, negative economic impacts, and a profound emotional footprint; and

WHEREAS, Illinois played a role in the funding of the interstate highway system; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has the mandate to rectify inequity when it presents itself; and

WHEREAS, Numerous cities across the nation have successfully employed expressway lids to correct the unfairness of the placement of the interstate highway system and capture its many benefits; and

WHEREAS, Expressway lids provide a cost efficient way to reconnect communities healthily and efficiently; and

WHEREAS, Expressway lids also provide an opportunity to create more space for the construction of parks, community centers, water storage, and housing while reducing both air and noise pollution; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the need to reunite these communities split by the creation of the interstate highway system; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we recognize the importance of expressway lids as a partial solution to that problem; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the State of Illinois should utilize federal resources, in partnership with state agencies and local entities, to begin reconnecting these communities with, among other things, expressway lids.