Gov's
capital spending plan for fiscal year 2005
Under Gov. Rod Blagojevich's second capital budget, Illinois'
road program will be stretched from five to seven years to allow
the state flexibility while Congress continues to work toward
a new six-year federal road program. "If someone can explain to
us what is going on in Washington, we'd love to hear," says Tim
Martin, Illinois Department of Transportation secretary. To combat
federal gridlock, the state would spend $200 million of the road
money right away, providing 4,800 construction jobs for the summer,
Martin says. The state would spend another $1.25 billion on road
maintenance. Blagojevich's second capital budget is complicated
further by Opportunity Returns, the administration's new economic
development tool. Plans have been released for only six of the
program's 10 zones. The capital budget includes an $86 million
lump sum for unspecified grants in the other four. For legislators,
the biggest question remains how the administration plans to pay
for the projects. Bonds would finance about half, but the administration
did not explain how long it would take to repay that debt. "All
we've seen is a book of projects, not really much as far as how
the debt would be retired, what will be the payment schedule.
All we have is a precedent. [What] the governor has done with
other bonding programs is back load everything with the debt,"
says Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, a Greenville Republican.
The governor described his administration's use of debt financing
as an innovative way to deal with tough fiscal times. "We are
taking a look at all our financial tools that are available and
we're using all of them," Blagojevich says. "When you run and
have to deal with a ship of state the size of Illinois, it's like
an aircraft carrier. You can't turn it around overnight."
Illinois
Issues March 24, 2004
TOP
Gov
questions board's casino choice
The governor's pledge to appoint a special investigator drew the ire of Gary Peterlin, the only gaming board member to vote against Rosemont. "The Gaming Board staff, which is independent, competent and very well-respected, must be allowed to adequately do their job without interference," Peterlin said. "Any other investigation, whether or not warranted, by any other offices or individuals are a separate issue. The investigation by the staff is part of the process and should not be impeded nor controlled."
In announcing he had hired former federal prosecutor Eric H. Holder Jr., a Washington, D.C., litigator, to investigate questions specific to Rosemont, Blagojevich said, "Ideally, they will be working together, that's what the hope is." Holder, who prosecuted former U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski on corruption charges, will be paid more than $500 per hour for his role in the investigation. The deal includes a $300,000 cap.
Meanwhile, the gaming board will examine the investors involved in the deal.
A character question has already risen over Isle of Capri's management. The Illinois Gaming Board fined Capri CEO Bernard Goldstein $255,000 in 1993 when he ran the Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria, according to press reports. He allegedly brokered a deal in which the casino overpaid for gaming machines Goldstein leased from a firm owned by his family.
Further, a 1999 attempt to locate a casino in Rosemont kicked up a cloud of suspicion that lingers. In mid-May, a federal bankruptcy court is expected to determine whether Capri's plan satisfies investors involved with Emerald Casino Inc.'s failed effort to bring gambling to Rosemont. Alleged mob ties sank the Emerald deal, resulting in the messy bankruptcy case. If the court dispute ends amicably, the gaming board can begin a 90-day investigation into Capri investors.
Rosemont won the bidding war, but the bureaucratic battle surrounding the state's 10th riverboat license has just begun.
Illinois
Issues March 24, 2004
TOP
Lincoln
academy laureates
-
Studs
Terkel, the Pulitzer prize-winning author and radio broadcaster
who became famous as an interviewer of noncelebrities. The
Chicagoan has published oral history books on the Great Depression,
World War II, race relations, working, the American Dream
and aging.
-
Michael
Becshloss, a presidential historian. The Illinois native’s
book and articles covered the Cold War and Johnson (Lyndon),
Kennedy and Eisenhower administrations.
-
David
Broder, the Pulitizer-prize winning political correspondent
for The Washington Post. The Chicago Heights native
has covered presidential races since 1960.
-
George
Ranney Jr., the president and CEO of Chicago Metropolis
2020, an organization formed to keep the region competitive
in the global economy. The Libertyville native is a corporate
CEO and senior counsel and former partner in a law firm.
-
Harry
L. Crisp II, the former chairman of the Illinois Community
College Board. President and CE0 of Marion Pepsi-Cola Bottling
Co., he serves on the foundation boards of Eastern Illinois
University and Murray State University in Kentucky.
-
Ernest
Wish,
the former managing partner of the Coopers & Lybrand accounting
firm. The Chicagoan has served as Chicago city clerk and director
of that city’s revenue department.
Illinois
Issues, March 18, 2004
