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More than $5 million in Berwyn projects have been put in jeopardy after a recent rulling by a state appellate court struck down the Illinois General Assembly’s $31-billion capital spending plan.
The state appellate court ruled Jan. 26 that the entire 2009 spending bill was invalid because it violates the state constitution’s single-subject clause that states that legislation cannot be broad in scope. The bill ended up calling for revenue streams to be generated by legalizing and taxing video poker, partially privatizing the state lottery and increasing taxes on candy, alcohol and various hygiene products to generate revenue for statewide capital projects.
All those new taxes would be rescinded if the ruling stands, and subsequent appropriations would then be nullified. Given that the law passed two years ago, the ruling endangers funding for half-completed projects and could cancel future capital improvements.
Locally, workers with Seguin Services in Cicero, a nonprofit organization that delivers care to 600 disabled citizens, fear that a $750,000 renovation of its main operations hub could have its funding disappear before the project is completed.
“Getting those support dollars, especially through capital spending bills and the state assembly, is absolutely vital to our ability to provide safe and secure accessible housing,” said John Haptonstahl, Seguin’s executive vice president.
The Carr Center, Sequin’s administrative and programming headquarters, received two grants totaling $875,000, and construction already is underway on the 45,000-square-foot facility. Seguin President and CEO Jon Voit said he worried the cost of finishing the partially completed project could wind up falling back to the company.
“We do not have $750,000 to be able to complete the renovation,” Voit said. “We’ll have to come up with some other alternatives to get the space complete, and that could take a couple of years.”
For the city of Berwyn, the 2009 spending bill allowed it to clear a growing list of projects that would have strained already-tight city budgets.
“It’s going to hurt because a lot of those projects are needed projects. Some of it may not get done for a few years,” Berwyn Mayor Robert Lovero said.
State legislators, meanwhile, are awaiting the state supreme court’s ruling.
The Illinois Supreme Court has granted an emergency stay motion from the Illinois Attorney General's Office so that revenue streams can remain in place and projects can continue to be built until it makes a final ruling. The Attorney General’s Office appealed to the state supreme court Monday, but no date has been set for that hearing.
More than $5 million in Berwyn projects have been put in jeopardy after a recent rulling by a state appellate court struck down the Illinois General Assembly’s $31-billion capital spending plan.
The state appellate court ruled Jan. 26 that the entire 2009 spending bill was invalid because it violates the state constitution’s single-subject clause that states that legislation cannot be broad in scope. The bill ended up calling for revenue streams to be generated by legalizing and taxing video poker, partially privatizing the state lottery and increasing taxes on candy, alcohol and various hygiene products to generate revenue for statewide capital projects.
All those new taxes would be rescinded if the ruling stands, and subsequent appropriations would then be nullified. Given that the law passed two years ago, the ruling endangers funding for half-completed projects and could cancel future capital improvements.
Locally, workers with Seguin Services in Cicero, a nonprofit organization that delivers care to 600 disabled citizens, fear that a $750,000 renovation of its main operations hub could have its funding disappear before the project is completed.
“Getting those support dollars, especially through capital spending bills and the state assembly, is absolutely vital to our ability to provide safe and secure accessible housing,” said John Haptonstahl, Seguin’s executive vice president.
The Carr Center, Sequin’s administrative and programming headquarters, received two grants totaling $875,000, and construction already is underway on the 45,000-square-foot facility. Seguin President and CEO Jon Voit said he worried the cost of finishing the partially completed project could wind up falling back to the company.
“We do not have $750,000 to be able to complete the renovation,” Voit said. “We’ll have to come up with some other alternatives to get the space complete, and that could take a couple of years.”
For the city of Berwyn, the 2009 spending bill allowed it to clear a growing list of projects that would have strained already-tight city budgets.
“It’s going to hurt because a lot of those projects are needed projects. Some of it may not get done for a few years,” Berwyn Mayor Robert Lovero said.
State legislators, meanwhile, are awaiting the state supreme court’s ruling.
The Illinois Supreme Court has granted an emergency stay motion from the Illinois Attorney General's Office so that revenue streams can remain in place and projects can continue to be built until it makes a final ruling. The Attorney General’s Office appealed to the state supreme court Monday, but no date has been set for that hearing.
If the legislation were to be overturned, state leaders would have to go back and recreate the only major capital spending bill the Illinois General Assembly had produced in more than a decade.
“All of these things that the capital bill was supposed to do are still priorities in the state and we’ll just have to make the changes to meet the appellate court rulings, ” said State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, a Democrat who represents part of Berwyn. “We’ll find a way to make it right before we just throw our hands up and say we can’t do capital projects.”
Lovero, meanwhile, remained hopeful that most of the $5 million in state funding the city is in line to receive eventually will come through.
“I truly believe that this will be corrected either through the courts or the legislature,” he said. “Too many communities rely on assistance from this bill.”
LOCAL PROJECTS AFFECTED
- North Berwyn Park District: $1,100,000 for renovations to Cuyler Park; $500,000 for other improvements
- Berwyn Park District: $1,000,000 for various improvements; $400,000 for Janura Park; $90,000 for Proksa Park; $50,000 for Pavek Pool
- North Berwyn School District 98: $25,000 for improvements at each of its five schools; $25,000 for St. Odilo’s School
- Morton West High School: $500,000 for infrastructure improvements
- Berwyn Fire Department: $100,000 for general improvements; $50,000 for ladder refurbishments
- Berwyn Police Department: $85,000 for technological upgrades
- Berwyn Public Library: $160,000 for a new elevator; $120,000 for infrastructure improvements
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City of Berwyn: $500,000 for street resurfacing; $95,000 for a new boiler; $50,000 for a new generator; $50,000 for general infrastructure and $40,000 for masonry work
