Hastert and Poshard announce recommendations for $31 billion capital plan

[May 21, 2008]  SPRINGFIELD -- The co-chairs of Gov. Blagojevich's Illinois Works Coalition announced on Wednesday a new $31 billion comprehensive capital infrastructure plan and their recommendations for how to fund it. The recommendations by Dennis Hastert, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Glenn Poshard, Southern Illinois University president, follow a comprehensive statewide listening tour launched in March and several meetings with the governor and the four legislative leaders.

"Whether it be an Olympic bid for Chicago or a bridge over the Mississippi, I am absolutely convinced that this state cannot wait a single day longer for a capital construction bill," said Poshard. "We need to put people to work, we need to secure our position as this nation's transportation hub, and we need to access the federal transportation funds secured in a bipartisan effort by former Speaker Hastert and our congressional delegation."

"Over the last 11 weeks, our group has traveled the state and heard firsthand from employers, workers, parents, teachers and others about the tremendous need for investment in our roads, schools and other infrastructure," Hastert said. "Their testimony confirmed our belief that after nearly 10 years, it is past time for Illinois to pass a capital bill. Those insights were vital in forming the recommendations announced today. President Poshard and I now look forward to working closely with the governor and General Assembly in taking the next step of delivering a comprehensive, bipartisan capital bill of which we can all be proud."

Based on the listening sessions and face-to-face meetings with the state's political leaders, Hastert and Poshard recommend the following:

• Invest $31 billion in transportation, education, energy, health care, environment and water, economic development, and other critical infrastructure and quality-of-life needs for the citizens of Illinois.

• Provide a capital improvement plan clearly identifying timelines, priorities and funding sources for projects within each of these investment categories.

• Fund education construction projects and mass transportation investments with $7 billion partial lottery concession.

• Create capital and educational trust funds with "lockbox" accountability guarantees for capital investments and continuation of the current level of lottery proceeds for P-12 education.

• Use motor fuel taxes to support bonded road projects that allow nearly $2 billion in additional projects

• Expand gaming with a Chicago casino, one additional riverboat license, increases in positions at existing riverboats and availability of electronic gaming at racetracks to raise $550 million annually in new revenues for debt service for environment and water, energy, economic development, health care, state facilities, and other critical purposes.

According to a study by Southern Illinois University, a comprehensive capital plan would have tremendous economic benefits for the state. The study found that a capital plan would create 535,000 new full-time jobs, lead to $49 billion in economic activity and produce more than $2.9 billion in state and local tax revenues.

[Text from Illinois Works file received from the Illinois Office of Communication and Information]