Quinn OKs more than $12 billion in new infrastructure spending

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced a proposal on Wednesday to spend $12.62 billion over the next six years on transportation projects.

Mike Billy
Illinois News Network

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced a proposal on Wednesday to spend $12.62 billion over the next six years on transportation projects.

The proposal includes highway construction, public transit, rail and airport projects, according to a news release from the governor’s office. Roads projects make up 75 percent of the cost of the program.

At a news conference in Springfield on Wednesday, Quinn said the proposal would improve the state’s transportation infrastructure while also creating jobs.

“Not only is it important for getting people to their destination safely – whether it be freight traffic or passenger traffic – it’s also important for jobs,” he said at the news conference.

But some are concerned about the cash-strapped state borrowing more money to fund Quinn’s plan.

State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, said a project included in the proposal, a new bridge in Moline, will bring new jobs to the city and improve its economy.

“The bridge project will mean an increase in employment in the city,” he said. “It’s great economic news.”

The bridge will span the Mississippi River, connecting Illinois and Iowa through Interstate 74. The cost of the entire project will be more than $1 billion and will be shared by Iowa, Illinois and federal taxpayers. The proposed construction is slated for 2019 or 2020.

The downside for some legislators is that the state would have to take on more debt to fund the projects.

The six-year transportation proposal includes $7.2 billion in federal aid, while $1.9 billion will come from state funds. The rest will come from “local or other sources.”

To fund the state’s portion of the cost, the General Assembly will have to authorize new bonds, according to gubernatorial spokesman David Blanchette.

State Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, said she is in favor of investing in transportation infrastructure, but the state shouldn’t take on more debt to do it. Instead, she said infrastructure should be funded through existing bonds and gasoline taxes, which she said are traditionally used to fund transportation projects.

“We have some of the highest gas taxes in the nation and that’s supposed to provide for transportation,” she said. “We have toll roads to pay for transportation. We have already issued bonds for long-term transportation investment and I don’t believe additional bonding should be given without looking further into the issue.”

Jim Iuorio, managing director of TJM Institutional Services, said that Illinois’ worst-in-the-nation credit score should make legislators exercise caution when deciding what projects to borrow money for.

“Ultimately we have to decide if the project is worthwhile,” he said. “Assuming it is, there’s no choice but to borrow because Illinois is taxed to the limit right now.”

Regardless of a project’s worthiness, Iuorio said Illinois’ credit rating will increase the cost of borrowing money.

“It’s going to cost more than all other states for Illinois to borrow because the market has decided that Illinois is a credit risk,” he said.

But state Rep. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, said that more borrowing is necessary for expensive infrastructure projects.

“Issuing bonds is the only way to get this done,” he said. “They don’t have billions of dollars laying around to spend on infrastructure. If so, they should be paying their bills.”

Ives disagrees.

“I’m a proponent of beefing up infrastructure, but there isn’t enough long-term planning that would justify putting the state more in debt,” she said. “We need to look more into where we are spending money right now instead of borrowing more.”