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Bomke's House Bill 1355, sponsored in the House by Rep. Rich Brauer,
R-Petersburg, establishes a preference for locating state facilities
in historic central business districts. Springfield's district is
between Carpenter and Cook streets and between 10th and Walnut
streets.
"This legislation will do a lot for stimulating Springfield's
economy, and downtown Springfield will benefit from this legislation
because of the influx of people," Bomke said. "My hope is that with
more state employees, all businesses will receive a big boost."
House Bill 1355 is an initiative of the
Illinois
Main Street program, a comprehensive community revitalization
program promoting historic preservation and economic development of
the state's traditional business districts. Presently, Illinois has
69 active Main Street communities, growing from nine when the
program began in 1993.
According to Victoria Clemons, director of
Downtown Springfield
Inc., "Since 2002 nearly 2,600 state employees have left the
downtown area."
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 The absence of 2,600 employees can significantly affect the
opportunities for commerce in downtown Springfield, affecting
restaurants, shops, parking and all services.
"It's estimated that there are 600,000 square feet of unused real
estate downtown," Bomke said. "This is all vacant space, and the
majority of it is office space that could easily be used as a state
facility."
Bomke added that in addition to downtown Springfield, the
legislation would benefit any community having a historic central
business district.
House Bill 1355 passed the Illinois House unanimously, has
cleared committee in the Senate and is now before the full Illinois
Senate.
[Text from news release sent on
behalf of
Sen. Larry Bomke and received
from Illinois
Senate Republican staff]
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