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Four years after its inception, the Illinois Medical
District at Springfield is like many new businesses: It has big plans and
the potential to succeed. All it needs to succeed is some start-up money
and effective marketing. A couple of pieces of legislation, sponsored by state
Rep. Raymond Poe, R- Springfield, and pending in the Legislature, could
provide both of those ingredients. One bill, introduced in February, would provide an
infusion of $300,000 per year for 10 years from the state’s
general-revenue fund; the other would change the name of the district,
located just north of downtown Springfield, to the Mid-Illinois Medical
District.
But if history is any indication, medical-district
administrators might want to hold off on buying new office furniture. In last year’s Democratic-crafted budget,
Springfield’s medical district was shut out, although districts in
Chicago and East St. Louis both received funding. Those areas are
represented by Democrats; Springfield’s representatives all belong to
the minority Republican party. This time around — because no budget was passed
before the end of the regular legislative session — Republicans now
wield more influence over budget decisions, but budget negotiations with
Gov. Rod Blagojevich continue at a snail’s pace. In the meantime, Poe remains cautiously optimistic. “If there’s not lot of new money for the
state, it probably won’t make it, and, if there is some new money,
then we might have a chance,” Poe says. Poe adds that he’s requested that his
party’s leadership to raise the topic of medical-district funding
during budget talks. As of press time on Wednesday, no further action had
been taken on either bill. Springfield mayor Tim Davlin, a Democrat, says
he’s lobbied top Democrats, including Blagojevich, Senate President
Emil Jones, and deputy Majority Leader Gary Hannig. “This is of the utmost importance,”
Davlin says. “I’ve put it down as my top priority for
appropriations for this fiscal year.”
Until this point, state grants have funded the bulk
of the preliminary planning for the district, which the legislature created
in 2003. North Grand Avenue and Walnut, 11th, and Madison streets are its
boundaries. An 11-member medical-district commission has the authority to
lease, sell, and improve real estate in the area and may also finance
projects using tax-exempt bonds. Part of the initial $300,000 grant went towards
drafting a master plan, which the City Council approved in early 2006. The
medical-district commission spent the remainder on creating a marketing
plan. Another $50,000 grant to study traffic flow and plan landscaping went
to the district last fall.
Michael Boer, president of the medical-district
commission, says that additional funding is needed to cover start-up and
operational costs, such as paying office staff and administrators and
funding marketing activities. Without the money, he says, volunteers will
continue running the district’s operations, at least for the
foreseeable future. Boer says that he’s encouraged. “We made more opportunities this year to
interact with folks on both sides of the aisle about why the legislative
changes are important to realizing the potential that the district
has,” Boer says. “People on both sides of the aisle were good
enough to give us an audience to convince them of that.”
Contact R.L. Nave at rnave@illinois.com
This article appears in Jul 19-25, 2007.
