 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 on 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 Jim Underwood, executive
director of the Capital Development Board.
CDB received the initial $1.5 billion for higher education
construction from the $30 billion statewide construction package
approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Pat Quinn in July 2009.
State Rep. David Reis, R-Olney, questioned why there are 69
delayed construction projects.
"You said there are projects on hold?" Reis said.
Underwood said it is simply because of lack of funding.
"Those are the ones that we don't have the releases for yet, the
release of the funds to start the design," Underwood said.
Gus Behnke, CDB's chief fiscal officer, said the agency doesn't
get involved in the bond sales to fund projects. They rely on
Quinn's office for that.
"We work with them by telling them how much cash we'll need to
pay for the projects, and then they work that into their overall
bond sale program," he said.
Quinn's Office of Management and Budget could not be reached for
a comment late Monday.
[to top of second column] |
While the state's vertical construction is seeing some delays,
road construction is on pace, according to Illinois Department of
Transportation spokesman Josh Kauffman.
"All construction projects previously planned are moving
forward," Kauffman said.
The Department of Transportation has 42 current road projects in
the works. The full list is available on IDOT's
website.
While the state has been short on funding, experts have weighed
in that video gaming could bring the state some extra revenue that
it needs.
Senate President John Cullerton has also proposed a cigarette tax
increase, saying that it could provide $300 million for the state.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By MARY J. CRISTOBAL]
 |
