Bill Text: IL HR1303 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to reconsider its decision to not relocate its West Campus to St. Clair County at a site adjacent to Scott Air Force Base.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-05-31 - Referred to Rules Committee [HR1303 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-HR1303-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, For over four decades, the United States | ||||||
| 3 | government has pursued a clear policy when deciding where to | ||||||
| 4 | locate its major intelligence agencies by picking suburban and | ||||||
| 5 | rural settings, usually on closely guarded military | ||||||
| 6 | installations; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, House Resolution 10 of the 99th General Assembly | ||||||
| 8 | urged the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to relocate | ||||||
| 9 | its new West Campus to St. Clair County at a site adjacent to | ||||||
| 10 | Scott Air Force Base; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has | ||||||
| 12 | recently made a decision to instead build its new $1.6 billion | ||||||
| 13 | campus at a location in northern St. Louis; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, The United States Army Corps of Engineers was | ||||||
| 15 | tasked with creating a Final Environmental Impact Statement | ||||||
| 16 | regarding proposed site locations for the new campus; the | ||||||
| 17 | finished report contained significant errors concerning | ||||||
| 18 | geographic locations and mission security protocols and risks, | ||||||
| 19 | and neglected to take many factors into account, including the | ||||||
| 20 | environmental conditions and former chemical weapons testing | ||||||
| 21 | at the St. Louis site, the presence of Osage Nation burial | ||||||
| 22 | grounds in the vicinity, and the impact of numerous federal | ||||||
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| 1 | laws on the selection of the site; and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Scott Air Force Base and the surrounding areas | ||||||
| 3 | have won numerous quality of life awards from the United States | ||||||
| 4 | Air Force and have received glowing reviews from the Air Force, | ||||||
| 5 | the Defense Information Systems Agency, and other government | ||||||
| 6 | agencies and contractors; the Scott Air Force Base area has | ||||||
| 7 | also been rated highly for its wonderful educational | ||||||
| 8 | opportunities through Southern Illinois University and | ||||||
| 9 | highly-skilled workforce; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, It has been estimated that it will cost at least | ||||||
| 11 | $130 million to acquire and prepare the 99-acre site in | ||||||
| 12 | northern St. Louis for the new campus; by comparison, the | ||||||
| 13 | property in St. Clair County is shovel-ready and would only | ||||||
| 14 | cost $5 million to acquire, a cost that St. Clair County would | ||||||
| 15 | bear since it plans to give the entire 182-acre site free of | ||||||
| 16 | charge to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, The members of this body strongly believe that it | ||||||
| 18 | would be in the best interests of the nation and of national | ||||||
| 19 | security for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to | ||||||
| 20 | reconsider its decision and to relocate its West Campus to the | ||||||
| 21 | St. Clair County site; therefore, be it
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| 22 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
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| 1 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 2 | strongly urge the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to | ||||||
| 3 | reconsider its decision to not relocate its West Campus to St. | ||||||
| 4 | Clair County at a site adjacent to Scott Air Force Base; and be | ||||||
| 5 | it further
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| 6 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 7 | delivered to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the | ||||||
| 8 | United States Army Corps of Engineers - Kansas City District, | ||||||
| 9 | President Barack Obama, and the members of the Illinois | ||||||
| 10 | congressional delegation.
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