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So, which is it?

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Illinois

* Back on March 16th, Illinois Statehouse News reported that the Senate President was wrong about the state’s capital projects program running out of money. In fact, it had all the cash it needed for now…

Illinois does not appear to need a cigarette tax hike, or the $300 million it could potentially raise, to start work on new roads and buildings this summer.

“There is approximately $3 billion of bonds that have been sold, so the capital program as the governor has indicated can start now,” said State Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield. “There shouldn’t be any delay.”

A review of the numbers being tossed around the Capitol paint a different picture than the one Senate President John Cullerton is portraying.

Cullerton, D-Chicago, has said the state needs money from the cigarette tax to make sure work can continue across Illinois this summer. The original funding source for the construction plan has been slow to appear. A new liquor tax is tied up in the courts, and video poker has yet to arrive in bars and truck stops.

* But then on March 28th, ISN reported that there wasn’t enough money for the schools’ portion…

There are enough projects and enough workers, but there is not enough money to begin all of the work in Illinois’ statewide construction program this summer.

Lawmakers on Monday listened to testimony from the state’s Capital Development Board about the school construction portion of the multibillion dollar statewide road, bridge and school building plan.

The news at the Capitol is not what lawmakers said they wanted to hear. Nearly half of the construction projects in the Capital Development Board’s to-do list are being delayed because of a lack of money

“We’ve bid $245 million and currently have 124 projects in design, 92 in construction and 69 on hold for a total of 285 active projects at a value of $1.5 billion,” said CDB Executive Director Jim Underwood.

Those projects are on hold for lack of funding, according to Underwood.

Curiously, there was no quote of Sen. Bomke about any school/university/college projects in his district that might currently be delayed.

* But the governor is still cutting ribbons like he has plenty of cash to go around…

Governor Pat Quinn today visited Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) to announce a $19.1 million investment that will help improve energy efficiency at the school’s Belleville campus. The Illinois Jobs Now! capital investment will fund construction of an environmentally-friendly, 72,000 square-foot expansion of the Liberal Arts Building. The project is expected to create an estimated 175 construction jobs.

“As a former community college teacher, I understand that an investment in our state’s community colleges is an investment in tomorrow’s highly-trained workforce, which is the key to our long-term economic stability,” said Governor Quinn. “This project will create a modern and green facility where students at Southwestern Illinois College can learn and prepare for the jobs of tomorrow – an investment that will pay off for years to come.”

* Related…

* Illinois prepaid tuition program halts all new investments: The order halts a $50-million investment, unanimously approved by the board of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission in February, in an untested hedge fund to be composed of conventional stocks and bonds as well as “alternative” assets, such as private-equity, real estate and hedge funds that demand investor sophistication to manage properly.

* State prepaid tuition program changes how it invests money

* Tribune: Illinois needs to cut its exposure by closing the prepaid tuition program to new investors

* Haymarket Center struggles with State funding cuts

* Non-traditional school could be expelled - Quinn proposal to eliminate ROEs could spell its end

* Southland Charter High School moves into new home

* Preschool budgets in double jeopardy

* Two sides address consolidation questions

* Erickson: Some cities dream a little too big

* Finke: Consolidation bill not likely

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Apr 4, 11 @ 5:33 am

Comments

Illinois Statehouse News is an advocacy group first, IMO. Every journalistic enterprise of curse has a political leaning and has a particular point of view, but they are supposed to keep it relegated to the editorial page.

Comment by Newsclown Monday, Apr 4, 11 @ 6:59 am
ISN is not an advocacy group, period.

I only mentioned the name because, well, I’m not sure why. It was just odd that they whacked Cullerton one week and then reversed themselves the next without really saying so.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Apr 4, 11 @ 7:08 am
If there isn’t money for the school projects, that means a load of bonds haven’t been sold yet, correct?

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Apr 4, 11 @ 7:44 am
We wrote the first story, no need for a cigarette tax hike, because we were getting conflicting numbers from OMB and legislators. We did not expect the head of CDB to blame cash flow for his delays just a few days later. In fact we expected the opposite.
We’ve been trying to sit down with OMB to sort-out the numbers, many legislators pointed out the same thing you did Rich. We simply ran out of time (other stories to cover last week), I hope to get David Vaught on video to explain the situation. When we get that tape, everyone can watch it.
BTW there is video of of both Bomke and CDB testimony on our YouTube site. Listen to them both, in their own words.

Comment by Benjamin Yount Monday, Apr 4, 11 @ 9:16 am
ISAC should absolutely not be investing in anything other than conventional stocks and bonds. Haven’t we learned anything from the national financial meltdown. Even the people who create these other derivative instruments do not understand them completely, except for one aspect: They know how to escape all financial liability for themselves personally when these instruments blow up. Basically they are a way for the financial managers to gamble with other people’s money (people who are saving for college, in this case).

Comment by jake Monday, Apr 4, 11 @ 2:11 pm