Bill Text: IL HR0402 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Honors the Board of Directors and the employees of Pace Suburban Bus for 25 years of safe and accountable service to the people of northeastern Illinois.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)
Status: (Passed) 2009-06-24 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Elaine Nekritz [HR0402 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2009-HR0402-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives are pleased to honor the Board of Directors and | ||||||
4 | the employees of Pace Suburban Bus for 25 years of safe and | ||||||
5 | accountable service to the people of northeastern Illinois; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Pace was formed through legislation in 1983 by the | ||||||
7 | Illinois General Assembly as part of reorganization and reform | ||||||
8 | legislation for the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), | ||||||
9 | following a transit funding crisis; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Having begun operations as the Suburban Bus | ||||||
11 | Division of the RTA, the agency consolidated numerous suburban | ||||||
12 | bus operations into a single system and restored financial | ||||||
13 | stability and customer confidence in suburban Cook, DuPage, | ||||||
14 | Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties; the agency immediately | ||||||
15 | began a strategic planning process to coordinate service and | ||||||
16 | restore an aging fleet of buses; and
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17 | WHEREAS, Under the leadership of its first Board Chair, | ||||||
18 | Florence Boone, and Executive Director Joseph DiJohn, Pace | ||||||
19 | engaged in an aggressive strategic planning process to address | ||||||
20 | commercial and residential growth in the agency's service area | ||||||
21 | and prepare for future development; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Pace has established itself as a transit agency on | ||||||
2 | the forefront of technological innovations, ranging from the | ||||||
3 | establishment of a system-wide radio system in 1994 to the | ||||||
4 | development of its Intelligent Bus System, which monitors | ||||||
5 | performance using GPS technology while also provides | ||||||
6 | passengers with real-time service information, such as bus | ||||||
7 | arrival information; the agency has also looked to the future | ||||||
8 | with such innovations as the implementation of a Transit Signal | ||||||
9 | Priority system and Bus Rapid Transit; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Pace has been a national leader in service | ||||||
11 | provided to people with disabilities, including providing | ||||||
12 | paratransit services many years before they were federally | ||||||
13 | mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act and becoming | ||||||
14 | the first transit agency in the Chicago area to provide a fully | ||||||
15 | accessible fleet; the agency also participates in projects such | ||||||
16 | as Ride DuPage and Ride in Kane, which coordinate the resources | ||||||
17 | and services of multiple agencies to reduce costs and improve | ||||||
18 | service availability for riders; and
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19 | WHEREAS, In 2006, Pace took over responsibility for ADA | ||||||
20 | paratransit operations in the City of Chicago from the Chicago | ||||||
21 | Transit Authority to become the regional provider of origin to | ||||||
22 | destination transportation for people with disabilities; and
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23 | WHEREAS, In 1991, the Vanpool Incentive Program was formed |
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1 | by Pace to provide an alternative to fixed route bus service; | ||||||
2 | the program involves Pace providing a van, fuel, insurance, | ||||||
3 | maintenance, and tolls to groups of commuters for a flat | ||||||
4 | monthly fare; since its inception, the program has since grown | ||||||
5 | to be the second-largest vanpool operation in the United | ||||||
6 | States, with roughly 700 vans on the road; and
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7 | WHEREAS, The Municipal Vanpool Program was developed to | ||||||
8 | provide vans to units of local government to address needs and | ||||||
9 | enhance communities through improving the availability of | ||||||
10 | transportation for constituents; and
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11 | WHEREAS, In 1991, Pace set its all-time high for ridership | ||||||
12 | with 40.5 million trips taken, a number nearly equaled in 2008 | ||||||
13 | when people sought relief from high fuel prices and severe | ||||||
14 | traffic congestion; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Pace has served as the Chicago area's regional | ||||||
16 | ridesharing coordinator, helping to fight traffic congestion | ||||||
17 | by helping commuters match potential carpool and vanpool | ||||||
18 | partners through the program website www.PaceRideShare.com; | ||||||
19 | the site has gathered more than 6,000 members since March of | ||||||
20 | 2008; and
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21 | WHEREAS, In an effort to address the many growing and | ||||||
22 | changing suburban communities in Pace's service area, the |
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1 | agency has engaged in multiple service restructuring projects | ||||||
2 | to improve utilization of financial resources by realigning | ||||||
3 | existing routes to serve areas with greater demand for service, | ||||||
4 | including the development of new routes to areas previously not | ||||||
5 | served or extending hours or days of service; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Pace survived six consecutive years of budget | ||||||
7 | deficits from 2003 to 2008 through careful planning and | ||||||
8 | containment of costs; Pace also benefited from a groundswell of | ||||||
9 | support from riders, stakeholders, and other advocates, as well | ||||||
10 | as collective work with legislators on development of the | ||||||
11 | transit funding and reform legislation passed by the Illinois | ||||||
12 | General Assembly in January of 2008 to avert steep fare | ||||||
13 | increases and massive staff layoffs and service elimination; | ||||||
14 | therefore, be it
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15 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
16 | NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
17 | honor the Board of Directors and the employees of Pace Suburban | ||||||
18 | Bus for 25 years of safe and accountable service to the people | ||||||
19 | of northeastern Illinois and wish them continued success and | ||||||
20 | happiness in the future; and be it further
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21 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
22 | presented to the Pace Board of Directors as a symbol of our | ||||||
23 | esteem and respect.
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