Bill Text: IL HJR0029 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Calls upon the Chicago Transit Authority to relaunch the 31st Street bus from Cicero to the Lake Front for 3 years to serve the people of the Chicago neighborhoods of Little Village, McKinley Park, Armour Square, Bridgeport, the Town of Cicero, South Loop, and Bronzeville.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-04-30 - Resolution Adopted [HJR0029 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2013-HJR0029-Introduced.html
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, Public transportation in urban areas is essential | ||||||
3 | for the quality of life of
residents; and
| ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, The neighborhoods of Little Village, McKinley | ||||||
5 | Park, Armour Square,
Bridgeport, the Town of Cicero, South | ||||||
6 | Loop, and Bronzeville within the City of Chicago
are without a | ||||||
7 | standard east-west bus route (from Cicero to the Lake Front) | ||||||
8 | through their
densely-populated communities, as there is no bus | ||||||
9 | route between Cermak Avenue (22nd
Street) and 47th Street, | ||||||
10 | which leaves a 3 1/4-mile gap between east-west bus routes; and
| ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, This 3 1/4-mile gap in service is particularly | ||||||
12 | problematic because these
neighborhoods have a very high | ||||||
13 | percentage of residents who do not have automobiles;
and
| ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, There are approximately 300,000 people in this | ||||||
15 | "bus desert" area without
any east-west bus service; and
| ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, The Chicago Transit Authority cut the 31st Street | ||||||
17 | bus route in 1997,
citing relatively low ridership on the bus | ||||||
18 | route; and
| ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, The population within a one-half mile zone of the | ||||||
20 | 31st street proposed bus
route between Cicero
Avenue and the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | lakefront has grown to 201,047 people; and
| ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, Since 1997, the population in these neighborhoods | ||||||
3 | has risen dramatically
and several new anchor institutions have | ||||||
4 | been built, including the Little Village High
School and the | ||||||
5 | New 31st Street Harbor, to join existing anchor institutions, | ||||||
6 | including
U.S. Cellular Field, the Illinois Institute of | ||||||
7 | Technology, the De La Salle Institute, Arturo
Velasquez West | ||||||
8 | Side Tech, McCormick Place, Hyatt Hotel-McCormick Place, | ||||||
9 | Soldier
Field, the Field Museum, the Aquarium, the Planetarium, | ||||||
10 | 12th St. Beach, and Northerly
Island; these new developments | ||||||
11 | would make the 31st Street bus a successful route; and
| ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, In 2009, the CTA, through the Regional | ||||||
13 | Transportation Authority (RTA),
successfully applied for and | ||||||
14 | received $1,067,659 in Job Access Reverse Commute
(JARC) Funds | ||||||
15 | through the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) to | ||||||
16 | operate the
bus route for 3 years to assist Chicago area | ||||||
17 | residents to find and get to jobs, but, to date,
has not | ||||||
18 | matched the entire federal grant with $1,067,659 of its own | ||||||
19 | funds to operate the
bus for 3 years; therefore, be it
| ||||||
20 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
21 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
22 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we call upon the Chicago Transit
| ||||||
23 | Authority to relaunch the 31st Street bus from Cicero to the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Lake Front for 3 years to
serve the people of the Chicago | ||||||
2 | neighborhoods of Little Village, McKinley Park, Armour
Square, | ||||||
3 | Bridgeport, the Town of Cicero, South Loop, and Bronzeville; | ||||||
4 | and be it further
| ||||||
5 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
6 | presented to the Chicago Transit Authority.
|