SPRINGFIELD — 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.
By Mary J. Cristobal
SPRINGFIELD — 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.
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, simply, it is 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 their agency doesn’t get involved in the bond sales to fund project, but instead they rely on Quinn’s office.
“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.”
The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget could not be reached for a comment late Monday.
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.
IDOT has 42 current road projects in the works. The full list is available on IDOT’s web site.
While the state has been short on funding, experts have suggested 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.