Gov. Rod Blagojevich is a uniter. In fact, his plan
to move the Illinois Department of Transportation’s traffic-safety
division to Harrisburg brought together an alliance of Republicans and
Democrats, as well as labor and business groups. All are united in
opposition to the governor’s move.
On Monday, Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin, a Democrat,
joined Republican legislators state Reps. Rich Brauer and Raymond Poe and
state Sen. Larry Bomke, as well as the Greater Springfield Chamber of
Commerce, American Federation of State County, and Municipal Employees
Council 31, Teamsters Local 916, and Capital Area Association of Realtors
as plaintiffs in the case. Blagojevich, IDOT secretary Milt Sees, Illinois
Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, and Comptroller Dan Hynes are named as
defendants.
According to the suit, filed in Sangamon County
Circuit Court, the plaintiffs are seeking to block the transfer, claiming
that necessary paperwork to approve and certify title has not been
filed with the attorney general and secretary of state’s offices. In
addition, there are “substantial issues” concerning the
state’s purchase of real estate in a flood zone, proposed use of
motor fuel tax funds to buy the property, and IDOT’s failure to look
for property in a central business or historic district, all of which, the
suit claims, violate state law.
Spokespeople for Blagojevich and Sees have said they
are confident the law is on their side and plan to go ahead with the
relocation after Sept. 11. Neither Hynes nor Giannoulias’ offices are
commenting
IDOT plans to purchase and remodel the Southeastern
Illinois College Foundation in Harrisburg for $815,000 and spend another
$750,000 in renovations. The bipartisan Commission on Government
Forecasting and Accountability unanimously rejected Blagojevich’s
proposal less than two weeks after a hearing on the matter took place in
late July.
Leasing the division’s current operations
center in the IDOT Annex, at 3215 Executive Park Dr., costs Illinois
taxpayers $1.7 million per year. Blagojevich has repeatedly said that the
move is designed to stimulate the economy of Saline County and southeastern
Illinois.
“We are paying too much money in the IDOT annex and southern
Illinois does need
help,” says division of traffic safety employee John Paris. But of
moving jobs to Harrisburg, he adds: “This is wrong. This does not
help southern Illinois.”
Nor does it help Springfield. The realtor association
estimates a $21 million hit to the local economy in lost real estate
investment, future sales, lost property tax revenue and lost rental income.
Davlin, who quipped that he’s “glad to
finally be a plaintiff in a lawsuit and not a defendant,” says the
debacle demonstrates the need for the legislature to pass a capital bill.
He says: “If we talked about the hundreds of thousands of jobs that
would be created, we wouldn’t be talking about 140 jobs to help
southern Illinois.”
Contact R.L. Nave at rnave@illinoistimes.com
This article appears in Aug 14-20, 2008.
