Bill Text: IL SR0473 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Expresses support for the Great Lakes Basin Compact and adamantly opposes any effort to divert water from Lake Michigan, or the other Great Lakes, to the southwestern states.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-23 - Chief Sponsor Changed to Sen. Don Harmon [SR0473 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-SR0473-Introduced.html
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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake located | ||||||
| 3 | entirely in the United States; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, When measured by water surface, Lake Michigan is | ||||||
| 5 | the third largest of the Great Lakes; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Lake Michigan is the second largest of the Great | ||||||
| 7 | Lakes by volume; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Approximately 12 million people live along Lake | ||||||
| 9 | Michigan's shore, including the 2.7 million residents of the | ||||||
| 10 | City of Chicago; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Lake Michigan serves as a source of drinking | ||||||
| 12 | water, as a place for swimming and fishing, and as a scenic | ||||||
| 13 | wonderland; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Lake Michigan is a magnificent resource that | ||||||
| 15 | provides an essential home for all kinds of wildlife; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, In 2008, Illinois, along with Indiana, Michigan, | ||||||
| 17 | Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, | ||||||
| 18 | adopted a compact banning diversions without concurrence of | ||||||
| 19 | all signatories, which President George W. Bush signed; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, The declining water levels could negatively | ||||||
| 2 | impact industries such as commercial shipping, hydroelectric | ||||||
| 3 | power generation, and recreational boating and fishing, which | ||||||
| 4 | in turn would hinder the economic growth of the region; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, The Great Lakes are large bodies of water that | ||||||
| 6 | would not replenish easily; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Experts have already seen environmental changes | ||||||
| 8 | created by the diversion of water; the Great Lakes ice cover | ||||||
| 9 | has been decreasing while air and water temperatures have been | ||||||
| 10 | rising, which clearly illustrates global climate change in the | ||||||
| 11 | region; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Removing water from this vital body of water sets | ||||||
| 13 | a bad precedent for the protection of this finite resource and | ||||||
| 14 | will put a strain on its water supply; therefore, be it
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| 15 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | ||||||
| 16 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we strongly support | ||||||
| 17 | the Great Lakes Basin Compact and adamantly oppose any effort | ||||||
| 18 | to divert water from Lake Michigan, or the other Great Lakes, | ||||||
| 19 | to the southwestern states.
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