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* Let’s hope they can come up with a much-needed fix…

An Illinois House panel has set a hearing to look into Speaker Michael Madigan’s proposal to separate the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

The House State Government Administration committee is scheduled to take up the issue on Wednesday morning in Chicago.

Give it to the feds, give it to the U of I, whatever. There’s too much conflict over there and too many clouted higher-ups who can’t be fired to ever hope the state can fix it.

* The fixing here is too darned slow…

Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration is moving too slowly when it comes to developing a plan for the future of a shuttered, state-owned resort on Lake Shelbyville, a group of lawmakers and elected officials said Tuesday.

The Eagle Creek Resort has been closed for five years after dangerous levels of mold were discovered in the hotel. In March, a Decatur-based developer hired to reopen the resort abandoned the effort, citing an impasse with state officials over how the company wanted to proceed. […]

On Monday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent IDNR a letter reminding the agency of the terms of its lease for the Eagle Creek facility, which sits on corps property.

Lou Dell’Orco, the corps’ St. Louis district chief of operations, said the letter was designed to ensure the state fulfills its role in providing the corps with a plan for the future of the property. The letter follows a meeting with state officials in late July. […]

In a prepared statement, IDNR said it is following state rules to hire a company to assess the building and grounds. But such a report isn’t likely to be completed until mid-2015.

Closed for five years and an assessment won’t be finished for another year?

Ugh.

* And if they weren’t going to be called to testify anyway, I’m not sure how this qualifies as a boycott…

A legislative hearing set for later this week on Illinois High School Association operations won’t have a key player: the high-school sports governing body itself.

IHSA officials announced Monday they plan to “have no official presence” at the House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee hearing set for 4 p.m. Friday at South Shore High School because they’ve been “informed that the IHSA will be unable to testify or call witnesses during the hearing.”

In a news release posted on the association’s website, IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman said, “We plan to let the 700-plus IHSA supporters who have voted online in opposition of these hearings and the 25 pages of testimony they submitted on our behalf speak for us in absentia on Friday.”

* Meanwhile, Crain’s had a recent article entitled “The one utility not asking for help from Springfield”…

In Illinois’ energy industry, there’s a new kid in town. But the kid isn’t playing by the rules that have governed energy politics in this state for decades.

The piece goes on to claim that Princeton, New Jersey-based NRG Energy Inc. - one of the largest power generators in the nation which just bought a bunch of coal-fired plants here - doesn’t want anything out of the General Assembly, unlike Exelon and Ameren…

Lee Davis, president of NRG’s East region, which includes Illinois, says, “We don’t have an ‘ask.’ “ […]

Mr. Davis says NRG will lobby against providing subsidies to competitors like Exelon, since it’s investing on its own in plants many thought would close in the face of low power prices and stricter environmental standards.

“We agree with the Exelon of six years ago,” he says, referring to Exelon’s stance when power prices were higher that market forces should win out over government attempts to cut electricity rates. Everyone in the competitive power industry understood they were exposed to commodity volatility, Mr. Davis says. Asking for subsidies “is just kind of a silly argument for NRG to make.”

* But read down to the bottom…

NRG’s Mr. Davis says his company will argue that if the state insists on adding hundreds of millions to ratepayers’ electric bills annually to comply with new federal greenhouse gas rules, it should look beyond preserving nuclear plants that ratepayers already have financed. In keeping with NRG’s embrace of solar power and other green technologies, he says new renewable energy facilities should be prioritized.

Legislators “just need to be presented with more than one option,” he says.

Yeah, and that “prioritized” spending won’t come without a state cost? OK, sure.

Look, I’m for green tech. The faster we can ween ourselves off of Middle Eastern oil the better. All hands on deck, so to speak. Fracking, drilling, green energy, well-regulated nuclear, higher MPG requirements, electric cars, more trains, more mass transit, bike lanes… Whatever it takes, spend it, because it’s far cheaper in both blood and treasure than endless wars over ancient religious schisms and tribal boundary disputes.

But, don’t tell me NRG won’t have an “ask.” It’ll have an ask.

* And speaking of fracking, Raghav Murali and Daniel J. Deeb have an article in Shiff Hardin’s environmental newsletter about the new fracking rules…

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) on August 29, 2014 filed proposed rules that if adopted, will create additional burdens on companies seeking to extract natural gas in Illinois. The proposed rules, filed with the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR), represent IDNR’s final rules implementing the Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory (Act), the comprehensive law which permits, and strictly regulates, high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Illinois.

These new rules (Rules) could be argued to impose requirements well-beyond those expressly provided by the Act and the proposed rules issued by the IDNR on November 13, 2013. The following are among the ways in which the Rules could be viewed to go beyond requirements of the Act.

Go read the whole thing.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 12:47 pm

Comments

Committee hearings are much better than the “sneak attack” Mr. Madigan pulled towards the end of session with ALPLM.

== too many clouted higher-ups who can’t be fired to ever hope the state can fix it ==

And the truth shall make you sick to your stomach.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 12:52 pm
Rich, the head of NRG has been very clear about what they want. They are looking for nothing for their Illinois projects, but want the state to fix the broken RPS and ensure energy efficiency is valued. To the extent that’s an “ask”, it’s a broad policy ask without a conventional price tag. I’d say that’s a bit different than Exelon asking for a $580 million/year rate hike to bailout plants that ratepayers have already paid for.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 1:06 pm
The House State Government Administration committee is scheduled to take up the issue on Wednesday morning in Chicago.

Now - I’ve been accused of being an ageist, and I’m not going to help offset that charge by what I have to say here. But hear me out.

Lets imagine that the ALPLM and IHPA are split. Who is going to help get the ALPLM going as a separate entity? Who is going to fix the damage caused by this political fight? Who is going to lead it?

Right now there is a feisty senior citizen with political connections who is ten years passed her retirement date, imagining that it would be her.

That isn’t realistic. The damage caused and the challenges needing to be addressed due to a successful separation from IHPA will take more years than she has, to fix. That is, if she is even capable of fixing it, and based on what we’ve witnessed during her tenure - it doesn’t look like she can run the Museum as it is now.

You see, the challenges between the Museum and the IHPA are basic Public Admin 101 stuff. But this seems to be a challenge to the Museum’s current leadership. The “vision” this individual has for the Museum may be proper, sincere and a good one, yet the problems which have caused this breach between the Museum and the IPHA are rooted in basic administrative failure. She has political connections, but the problems aren’t due to politics - so politics won’t fix them. Instead it will make things worse.

A very nice retirement for this feisty individual with powerful political connections - is overdue. She can be such an important contributor to her favored Museum in another capacity, as a retired volunteer leading second graders through the dioramas. It will make her feel powerful, and they will ignore her as much as she is currently within the organization she leads and the organization she is required to work with.

That is the fix.

Make it a very big retirement party. A lot of folks will cheer her send-off!

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 1:29 pm
Interesting that the Governor’s own negotiator is saying that the fracking rules go too far.

Comment by 1776 Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 1:37 pm
IDNR needs money and has needed money for a decade. There is no real reason they have not taken advantage of this property and gotten it back online, making them some needed cash. So, there should be a lot of folks at IDNR really wanting this resort fixed. But it isn’t.

What is the hold up? Who are the players involved in this? Is it bureaucratic disinterest, or are their parties shoving the resort into a state of repair from which it cannot return? It has been five years and anyone who wants jobs, income, business growth, opportunities and good government needed to have been under the IDNR since it closed.

Something is happening when something isn’t happening for this long. What is it?

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 1:49 pm
Asking Democrats to handle fracking is like asking Ralph Nader to design a car. The problems here should not be a surprise.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 1:50 pm
Vanilla I agree with you completely but I can’t see that happening since higher-ups are involved. As far as the Eagle Creek resort goes, that is a Jim Thompson white elephant. As I remember the developer was paid an extra incentive to put it there. It is in the middle of nowhere and hard to get to. I have no idea why it wasn’t put somewhere else. DNR has other resorts that are quite successful. In short, it was a big waste of tax dollars. And yes, DNR needs to get the lead out.

Comment by Ginhouse Tommy Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 1:52 pm
Vanilla Man
As to the museum, putting it under U of I would solve the biggest problem they now have - operating under the thumb of CMS. In state universities today, if you have $ for a position, you can hire - its that simple. Under CMS, EVEN IF YOU HAVE THE $, agencies must go through the dreaded ePAR system and get GOMB approval to hire - previous posters have accurately described better than I ever could that Kafkaesque experience. If all the legislative change does is get the museum out from under CMS, it’ll be an improvement.

Comment by Smitty Irving Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 2:00 pm
1776 “interesting that the governor’s own negotiator is now saying fracking rules have gone too far.”
You did see the law firm logo on his post didn’t you? he is in private practice now, drumming up business.

Comment by yo Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 2:00 pm
I’d love to know what “the jobs governor” has to say about the proposed IDNR rules on fracking.

Comment by Responsa Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 2:07 pm
I know he works for a law firm but he self identifies as the Governor’s negotiator. He’s in a unique position to give an analysis and it clearly backs industry concerns.

Comment by 1776 Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 2:21 pm
Here’s a thought, DNR needs to work on making the State Parks better and leave the fracking issues to EPA. Some of the parks are an embarrassment; building and structures in disrepair, trails in poor condition. Maybe they should do more to get rid of the asian carp from the rivers before they completely destroy the water ecosystems.

Comment by the Cardinal Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 2:22 pm
If you look at the magnitude of the “asks” being made in the energy debate (Exelon: $580 million/year + Dynegy ~10% rate hike in Ameren), NRG ain’t asking for much. Most importantly, the company isn’t asking Illinois to bail out investors for their bad business decisions.

NRG just wants the renewable energy law already on the books to actually work.

Comment by Senator Clay Davis Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 2:36 pm
Another example of fixing too slow: Currently 8 of 30 Illinois interstate rest areas are closed for various work. And the remaining open ones are largely in deplorable shape. One south of B-N on I-55 has been closed over a year and a half. Word is all will be open by November, but wow have they been neglected for too long.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 2:49 pm
The Eagle Creek Resort was a mistake from day 1. The location was a political decision not a market decision. DNR tried for years to find a developer for a similar resort on Carlyle Lake, which was a much better location - close to St. Louis, but never succeeded.

The original developer built a shoddy product that doesn’t compare to the CCC DNR lodges. The mold problem is no surprise.

The delay is because no private partner will spend the $ to repair the resort.

DNR ought to tear it down. It’ll never deliver the jobs promised.

Comment by Sir Reel Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 2:57 pm
–Whatever it takes, spend it, because it’s far cheaper in both blood and treasure than endless wars over ancient religious schisms and tribal boundary disputes. –

Don’t look now, but here comes the worst of both worlds: endless involvment in Middle East wars to “protect oil” followed by export of crude drilled in America.

The oil companies are pushing to end the ban of exporting crude (next will be liquified natural gas). The United States is already a net exporter of refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

One of the bigger scams ever perpetrated on the American people was that there is such a thing as “American oil,” and that what’s produced here is consumed here. Not the case.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 3:01 pm
Let me get this straight…

There is a an official state sanctioned Subject Matter Hearing on the IHSA scheduled for football Friday evening at a high school on the South Side of Chicago. The IHSA won’t be allowed to testify, so they aren’t going.

What are they even going to talk about if the group in which the hearing is on isn’t allowed to speak, or won’t be present? That’s comically weird.

Comment by Phenomynous Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 3:10 pm
Chapin Rose should introduce a bill allowing the state to buy Eagle a Creek Resort. What business would want to invest millions of its own money in a building it cannot own? Let the state run it.

Comment by Handy Andy Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 3:13 pm
Sir Reel I agree. It’s a grave waiting for a tombstone.

Comment by Ginhouse Tommy Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 3:16 pm
According to new reports today, the library’s donations are now drying up due to the spat between the kids in charge and the support of their powerful sponsors http://www.sj-r.com/article/20141001/NEWS/141009962/10511/NEWS

This is why we can’t have nice things

Comment by Formerly Known As... Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 3:34 pm
And making the IHSA hearing even weirder? When are most HS football games played? Friday night. Who’s gonna show up?

Comment by Ron Burgundy Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 3:50 pm
Phenomynous

Follow me here, the tea leaves are sometimes kind of faint. State law says if IHSA takes any money from public high schools, the Auditor General has to do an audit. Due to the money made on the state tournaments (football and basketball), IHSA has not had to charge fees / dues of any public high school in several years, so no audit. As part of the making of money off the state tournaments, IHSA has had run ins with the press about use of images - particularly the Sun Times. The Sun Times is “business partners” (I’ll yield to a better term) with the BGA, who desperately wants IHSA subject to FOIA, Lisa Madigan’s legal opinion to the contrary notwithstanding. So, from Sangamon County, it seems the Sun Times and BGA have stirred up some heat and noise around IHSA. Should be fun to watch.

http://www.ihsa.org/NewsMedia/Announcements/tabid/93/ID/456/IHSA-Responds-To-FOIA-Lawsuit.aspx

Comment by Smitty Irving Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 4:13 pm
Governing? What’s that?

Comment by Just Me Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 6:17 pm
“One of the bigger scams ever perpetrated on the American people was that there is such a thing as “American oil,” and that what’s produced here is consumed here. Not the case.”

Nearly all the oil produced in the Illinois basin is refined by a farmer owned coop, CountryMark, in Mt. Vernon, IN. The refined product is sold primarily through their farmer coop owners and provides more than half of the fuel needed to plant and harvest Indiana crops. So, yes, there is such a thing as American oil and there are thousands of jobs supported by it. Not sure how to make it more American.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 6:19 pm
Anon, I’m not really seeing the farmer co-op model as a major player in the current American oil business, lol.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 6:25 pm
oh, and by the way former IEPA Director Renee Cipriano is now a partner at Schiff…kinda telling isn’t it?

Comment by Loop Lady Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 6:27 pm
The Eagle Creek project can be a success. The golf course was first class (I don’t know how much it deteriorated over the past few years). The boating and fishing at the lake is great. When the resort was open (until the last few years when it really went downhill) the parking lots at the resort were full, the surrounding campsites were full. People came from both the Chicago area and Missouri and Indiana.

The rooms were full, especially weekends: I know. I tried to take my kids there a couple of times a year. Hard to get to? It’s a rural resort. Those are rarely put in convenient urban areas. Tell me it’s harder to get to than Giant City, say. From where? Carbondale?

It was a boon to the area. There were problems. The roads were full of vehicles pulling large boats. The rooms were pricey for that area of the state. There wasn’t much of anywhere to eat other than the resort. But all in all it was a welcomed, used, and appreciated addition to the area. Give Sen Rose and other local legislators some room to come up with a plan.

Comment by steve schnorf Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 7:11 pm
Steve I said that it was hard to get to. From what I had heard there are several antique malls in the area if you are into that sort of thing. Years ago I had heard that nobody had broken 80 on the golf coarse and you tended to loose a lot of golf balls. Whitetail deer did walk onto the fairways when you were playing. If you look it up at one time there was a dock for seaplanes. In other words bad management, poor construction on the lodge and a lost opportunity. On top of that you can’t expect to serve expensive gourmet meals to a family of tourists and guys fishing for crappie. No disrespect intended sir but they didn’t think it through.

Comment by Ginhouse Tommy Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 10:53 pm
===expensive gourmet meals to a family of tourists and guys fishing for crappie===

Um, have you seen those million dollar houseboats?

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Oct 1, 14 @ 11:09 pm