Two billion dollars should buy a lot of jobs.
That’s how much the state of Illinois
has laid on the table with the passage of a law last week
establishing the Central Illinois Economic Development Authority. The authority’s board will have the
power to issue $250 million in tax-exempt bonds to pay for projects
designed to spur economic development in 11 central Illinois
counties, including Sangamon. Patterned after seven existing
regional authorities in other parts of the state, the authority can
start business as soon as the governor signs the bill and members
are appointed. Gov. Rod Blagojevich has praised the
authorities as mechanisms to fuel the state’s economy. Each
of the boards has the power to issue $250 million in bonds and use
the proceeds to supply low-interest loans to private businesses and
entrepreneurs. Although it’s possible that taxpayers could
end up paying off bonds if a business goes bankrupt or a natural
disaster wipes out a borrower, backers say that the payoff can be huge. The Senate unanimously
passed the measure last month; the House followed suit last week. “It’s worth the risk to generate
growth, to foster a favorable business climate,” says Sen.
Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, a co-sponsor of the measure.
“That’s part of the obligation of government: How can
we stimulate jobs?” Besides having the power to issue bonds, the
authority can also buy, sell, and own property. Members of the
unpaid board will serve six-year terms. The governor will appoint
three members, subject to approval by the state Senate, and
county-board chairmen will each appoint a member. Besides Sangamon,
the counties within the authority’s district are Menard,
Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, Christian, DeWitt,
and Montgomery. A representative from the Department of Commerce
and Economic Opportunity will complete the 15-member board. Although he says he has no specific projects
in mind, Bomke suggests that authority bonds could be used to help develop business in the
Springfield Medical District. “The medical field is the
second-largest employer in Springfield,” Bomke says.
“I’m told we have companies all over the country that
could come to Springfield. They would need a good business
plan.” The authority could also combine with other state
economic-development boards to help reestablish the coal industry,
Bomke says. Unemployment in counties under the
authority’s purview in February, the most recent month for
which statistics are available, ranges from a high of 8.5 percent
in Calhoun to a low of 5.1 percent in Sangamon, according to the
Illinois Department of Economic Security. Sangamon and Menard are the
only counties in the authority’s area with unemployment rates
below the state average of 5.5 percent, which is four-tenths of a
percent higher than the nationwide average. South of Springfield, a state
economic-development authority similar to the one created last week
is issuing tax-exempt bonds to help build an ethanol plant in
Granite City. The authority, called the Southwestern Illinois
Development Authority, made headlines four years ago when the state
Supreme Court overturned the authority’s attempt to condemn
148 acres owned by a scrapyard so the land could be turned over to
an automobile racetrack for use as a parking lot. Bomke says the
Central Illinois Economic Development Authority will have no power
of eminent domain that would allow it to condemn land. “I would be adamantly opposed to
that,” Bomke says.
This article appears in Apr 13-19, 2006.
