House Expected to Take Up IDEA Bill Tonight

Rich Miller at the Capitol Fax Blog is reporting that the House is expected to vote on Bradley's IDEA bill tonight.

Miller is still describing it "as the worst bill ever".

He noted that the Democrats substituted two members of Bradley's committee for the hearing tonight implying that they were needed for the vote. Still, it was 11-2 to move forward.

He also notes that the St. Clair Record is reporting that Mount Vernon's mayor Mary Jane Chesney is opposed to the bill.

“We have a new interchange and are in the process of building infrastructure on approximately 600 acres around the interchange to attract businesses to the area,” she wrote on May 6.

“What are our chances of attracting these businesses when only 40 miles down the interstate lies Marion with this proposed added development tool?

Actually, Mount Vernon's chances are not very good. The city is already on record for not wanting any lodging establishments to go to the new exit which will be dominated by the new Good Samaritan hospital.

This is the first time I've heard of any effort to market the interchange for hospitality or retail, which they obviously should.

Also, Marion has a much better population base within an hour drive that likely to come to it, than Mount Vernon.

I'm not opposed to Mount Vernon, I'm a MVTHS grad and know Chesney well from when she taught at the high school. I support her efforts to turn around the city's declining population. What used to be the region's second largest community, is now the third, according to census estimates. The Hub has simply surpassed the King City this decade.

As to the legislation, State Rep. David Reis, R-Olney, has requested 10 various staff notes to be filed on the Bradley bill. These are impact statements of what the bill will do to certain areas such as the state's fiscal situation, state mandates, balanced budget, corrections, home rule, housing affordability, judicial impact, land conveyance appraisal, pensions and state debt.

I'm not sure what the rules are for these. There's a few that seem legitimate and actually deal with the bill. Others seem more like a parliamentary delaying tactics.

So far the Correctional Note and Land Conveyance Note have been filed.

Lawmakers Consider Other Tourism Bills

The IDEA bill for Marion isn't the only piece of legislation winding its way through the General Assembly today that will affect tourism in Southern Illinois.

Lawmakers in the House Executive Committee are reviewing a proposal tonight to revamp the Chicago trade show business at McCormick Place.

The dirty little secret downstate is that it's Chicago tourism dollars that fund our state's tourism program. When they hurting, the rest of us get to feel the pain.

I'm not sure what the bill number will be yet, but expect it to pass. Chicago's about to lose some long-time trade shows if they don't make changes.

While the focus this week has been on the IDEA bill there are other pieces of legislation that would have greatly benefited tourism that are stuck for now in the Rules Committees of either the House or Senate.

Senate Bill 2559 would have created the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Act. This would have offered a powerful tool that's been used with great success in Missouri. It would have provided an income tax credit equal to the amount of 25 percent of qualified expenditures for restoration and preservation of qualified historic structures. It passed the Senate 48-6 but has been stuck in Rules since April 23. HB 4823 is the House version of the bill. It too is stuck in Rules.

Senate Bill 3458 would have created the Tourism Task Force Act to figure out what direction the state should take in its tourism efforts. According to insiders, this really hasn't been done since serious efforts began in the early 1970s. State Sen. Bill Brady who's running for governor sponsored this bill last year which explains why it's not going anywhere in the Democratic-controlled House.

HB 2556 would allow conservancy districts to create TIF districts, as well as counties to create TIF districts for tourism-related projects located outside municipalities. Bradley introduced this last year on behalf of Rend Lake Conservancy District in an effort to attract developers to their land near Exit 77 on Interstate 57. This bill ended up in Rules last year and has never left.

House Committee Approves IDEA Bill

The House Revenue and Finance Committee voted 11-2 to recommend to the full House of Representatives state Rep. John Bradley's IDEA bill (SB 2093) for Marion and Southern Illinois.

The next step is the House of Representatives which could come later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Hearing Begins on IDEA Bill

The House Revenue and Finance Committee has presumably begun their 5:30 p.m. hearing. The IDEA bill for Marion is the third one on the agenda.

As to the changes in Bradley's second version of the bill filed earlier (House Floor Amendment #4, they don't seem to be major, or at least directly affect the Marion plan.

The new amendment appears to be the same as to language for the Marion project. There's a new Section 63 (p. 74) of the latest amendment which amends part of the New Markets Development Program Act increasing the level of tax credits to $20 million from $10 million.

Then, Section 64 of the new amendment appears to be the Section 65 of the old one. Both expand the jurisdiction of the Auditor General to cover the various funds created with this piece of legislation.

IDEA Bill Set for a Hearing at 5:30 p.m.

State Rep. John E. Bradley, D-Marion, has introduced House Floor Amendment #4 to SB 2093. This is amending his main amendment (#3) for the Marion site. Not certain what the changes are at this point, but they seem to have helped the situation.

The House Rules Committee has forwarded the bill to the Revenue and Finance Committee which Bradley chairs. A hearing is set for 80 minutes from now.

The only other bill on the agenda is SB 377, which deals with a proposed tax amnesty period designed to get some more revenue flowing into the state. This has been talked about in the last few days as a one-time revenue generator to deal with the state's budget crisis.

I'm assuming the large delegation of Southern Illinois officials will be on hand for the hearing.

Bradley Answers Questions on Bill

State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, answers questions last night on the legislation for the new Marion development.

Forby Added as Chief Sponsor of IDEA Bill

Here's the latest on the IDEA (Innovation Development and Economy Act) legislation.

While he's been publicly onboard since Saturday, state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, made it official today. He's now the chief sponsor of SB 2093, taking the place of Sen. James F. Clayborne, Jr., D-East St. Louis, who had been shepherding the bill for the Glen Carbon location.

On the House side, State Reps. Brandon W. Phelps, D-Norris City; Ed Sullivan, Jr., D-Mundelein, and Mary E. Flowers, D-Chicago, have all been added as alternate chief co-sponsors.

According to the General Assembly's website, the bill is still sitting in the House Rules Committee.

More on the New Tourism Proposal for Marion

I've now had a chance to read most of state Rep. John Bradley's House Amendment 3 to Senate bill 2093 which is the vehicle being used for this IDEA — the Innovative Development and Economy Act.

Here are some additional thoughts basically in the order that I read and compared Bradley's amendment to the previous version of the bill designed for Glen Carbon.

Glen Carbon's project had to be at least 600 acres. Marion's has to be 250 to 500 acres. It also has to be adjacent to an interstate highway and within one mile of two state highways, and within one mile of an "entertainment user, or a major or minor league sports stadium or other similar entertainment venue that had an initial capital investment of at least" $20 million.

The fifth requirement is that it includes land previously stripped mine. See "Abandoned Mines to Tourist Attractions" for the history of mining in this area.

Both amendments define an "entertainment user" as a business that "has a primary use of providing a venue for entertainment attractions, rides or other activities oriented toward the entertainment and amusement of its patrons". The MetroEast project would have required it to cover 50 acres and cost at least $100 million. The scaled-down version for Marion is just 20 acres and an investment of no less than $25 million.

I don't think the existing ball park can be the "entertainment user" for this district as there would be virtually no new taxes generated there over what has already been generated. I think this refers to something new.

Like TIF districts, the incentives can be used for a whole host of public improvements like streets and roads, parking lots, etc. Unlike a standard TIF, the STAR bonds could also be used for "vertical improvements" which normal persons would call buildings.

The legislation allows for the use of the STAR bonds to pay for construction of two "destination users" which are 150,000-plus square foot retailers that attract at least 30 percent of their customers from at least 75 miles away (or out-of-state). Think Cabela's or Bass Pro Shops rather than a Wal-Mart.

STAR bonds could also be use to build a "destination hotel" which is defined as at least 150 rooms and a venue for entertainment attractions, rides or other amusements, i.e. indoor water park. This is the Great Wolf Lodge-type establishment.

The bonds could also be used to cover the costs of one "entertainment user", i.e. theme park, specifically, "costs of buildings; rides and attractions, which include carousels, slides, roller coasters, displays, models, towers, works of art and similar theme and amusement park improvements."

In what appears to be different from last year's version of the legislation, rather than take 100 percent of the state's sales tax increment for everything in the STAR development, only 100 percent of transactions from up to 2 destination users (big retail attractions like a Cabela's), 1 destination hotel (Great Wolf or something similar), and 1 entertainment user (Legoland or another theme park). For everything else in the district, the state would be pledging only 25 percent of the tax increment.

Another limiting factor is that the state sales tax increment pledge to pay the STAR bonds cannot exceed 50 percent of the total development costs.

Before a STAR bond district can be created, the developer will have to submit a plan that includes at least $100 million in capital investments, at least $100 million in annual gross sales revenues and 500 new jobs.

Despite Holland's spokesperson's downplay of a Legoland, the legislation still requires a "potential entertainment user" or theme park as part of the initial plan as well as the retail "destination user". The language is not "either or", it's an "and".

Section 33 of the act (p. 60 of Amendment #3) outlines the STAR Bonds School Improvement and Operations Trust Fund, otherwise known as the reason why surrounding communities are backing this project, particularly schools. It's also why Regional Superintendent Matt Donkin is driving back to Springfield tonight or early tomorrow morning.

This fund is created in the state treasury. The moneys in the fund will be used to make "payments to school districts in educational service regions that include or are adjacent to the STAR bond district." This is later defined as the Franklin-Williamson Regional Office of Education.

Basically, 15 percent of the property tax increment generated from the development each year would go into this fund. Each fall, the regional superintendent would allocate the moneys to the various schools districts in proportion to the districts' fall enrollments.

What I don't see defined is a "qualifying school district". Even more loosey-goosey is a phrase that allows the regional superintendent the power to use "any other method or formula" he "deems fit, equitable, and in the public interest."

He would also be able to allocate "moneys to school districts that are outside of his or her educational service region or to other regional superintendents". However, politically, I don't think that will be case.

This weird language may be due to the simple fact that school district boundaries don't follow county lines. Thus there are schools in neighboring counties that include students from Franklin and Williamson counties.

In the Glen Carbon proposal, this fund was the "STAR Bonds Community Improvement Trust Fund" and the 15 percent property tax increment was to be distributed to municipalities within a 12 mile radius of the project. A third went to communities within 5 miles of the project and two-thirds went to communities in the 5 to 12 mile radius.

Section 45 in both amendments deal with restrictions. Both state that "no portion of a STAR bond project shall be financed" with basically existing TIF districts. I'm not sure how that would work out with the Hill, as TIF was used already for that development, and I believe that a TIF district has already been established for their undeveloped land on the east side of the interstate which will be included in this STAR bond district.

The Glen Carbon plan would have prohibited car dealerships and a minor or independent league baseball stadium to locate in the district. The Marion plan includes the ban on car dealerships, but not the stadium, which is probably not an issue since Rent One Park will be adjacent to the district.

The Marion plan also states that the developer can't use any land in the STAR bond district for a movie multiplex with more than 12 auditoriums or contain more than 900,000 square feet of floor space devoted to traditional retail use (that's the equivalent about about four super Wal-marts or Menard's.)

The theater bit is interesting. I guess we could see a new 12-screen complex to compete the existing 8-screen one behind the Illinois Centre Mall. Although still a very decent theater it's among the oldest 10 percent of properties owned by Kerasotes (and in the process of being sold to AMC). It's likely that AMC would be looking at a new complex sometime in the next few years anyway.

It's 12:39 a.m. Thursday morning and Bradley and state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, have less than 48 hours to get this passed before the legislature adjourns.

Theme Parks and Destination Hotels

The spokesperson for developer Bruce Holland told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch earlier this week in a story published yesterday that Legoland may not be in the cards for Marion.

...landing a LegoLand amusement park — one of the much-touted possibilities for the Glen Carbon site — is probably off the table, as those businesses tend to seek more urban settings. "That seems less likely in Marion," said [Rebecca] Rausch.

A more likely possibility, Rausch said, would be a venue like Cabela's at Village West in Kansas City, Kan., a hunting and outdoors store and museum, or similar large-scale venues that won't directly compete with existing Marion-area businesses.

While it certainly isn't a dead idea — Legoland certainly isn't the first theme park proposed for Southern Illinois — the others parts of the proposed destination plan shouldn't be overlooked.

Despite the story set to be published in tomorrow's paper that Great Wolf Resorts may or may not be looking at this project, such as facility would offer a tremendous boost to the region's tourism economy.

If you're not familiar with the chain, Great Wolf promotes itself as "North America's Premier Family Entertainment Brand".

Their first quarter report issued yesterday describes their resorts as "family-oriented destination facilities that generally feature 300 – 600 rooms and a large indoor entertainment area measuring 40,000 – 100,000 square feet. The all-suite properties offer a variety of room styles, arcade/game rooms, fitness rooms, themed restaurants, spas, supervised children’s activities and other amenities."

The main feature consists of a 40,000 square feet indoor water park.

So far they have 12 resorts with none closer than the Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin; Kansas City, Kansas; and Kings Island theme park at Mason, Ohio.

The latest-announced resort will be one in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania adjacent to a major shopping center. The company signed a letter of intent to license their brand and take a minority stake in the new venture.

A smaller version of a Great Wolf Resort is Illinois' first indoor waterpark — Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort just outside Starved Rock State Park near Utica, Illinois. Its waterwork is 24,000 square feet and their three-story lodge offers 92 over-sized guest rooms. In recent years they've added vacation villas and cabins to the mix as well.

I've never been inside, but I drove by it a few years ago while attending a conference at Starved Rock. The parking lot was packed and it looked a whole lot more fun than the tired CCC-era lodge and generally crappy cabin I was staying in.

[To be fair to the concessionaires of Starved Rock, I've been told DNR has updated those cabins since I stayed there. They needed to be, they were a disgrace to the state.]

As far as I can tell there are only three other indoor water parks, all in northern Illinois - CoCo Key Water Resort at Rockford, Key Lime Cove's Lost Paradise at Gurnee and the Mayan Adventure at Holiday Inn Chicago-Elmhurst.

Missouri only has one indoor waterpark and that's another CoCo Key Water Resort at Kansas City.

The closest one in Indiana is Big Splash Adventure at French Lick and I can't find any indoor parks in Kentucky.

Marion offers a good location with little competition. Combined with golf at Kokopelli and baseball at Rent One Park there's a core group right there, particularly if the developers can attract Cabela's or Bass Pro Shops, which have already been mentioned as possible tenants in the development.

Update on Marion Tourism Projects

In what's very possibly an inaccurate supposition based on quotes in their story, the Southern Illinoisan is reporting tonight online that "Cabela's, Great Wolf aren't planning for Marion project."

In fact their spokesman never say such a thing (at least they're not quoted as such).

[Great Wolf] however, isn't necessarily on board.

"Our development team currently has no plans for a Great Wolf Lodge in Illinois," said Steve Shattuck, a spokesman for the Wisconsin-based water park operator.

Similarly, a spokesman for outdoor outfitter Cabela's say he hasn't heard about a possible southern Illinois location.

"That's not one that I'm aware of," John Castillo said Wednesday.

Note that Shattuck said his company's "development team" has no plans. According to their website, they do franchise which could be a lodge not actually developed by Great Lodge, but by another outfit.

Also, Castillo of Cabela's provided an honest answer when he said "that's not one that I'm aware of," in regards to Marion. Later he added, "I'm not aware of any discussions with the developer."

Both spokesmen remind me of Target's spokesmen 20 years ago during the "mall wars" between Carbondale and Marion. The then-new Illinois Centre was in its earliest phases; maybe not even under construction yet.

The Southern ran a top story one day that clearly stated that the company was not coming to Marion. They quoted the company spokesman and there was no buts about it, Target was not coming and the implication was it had never considered coming.

In reality of course, they were. No one had told the spokesman. If the real estate and development people in the company tell the spokesmen before a deal is final but before they're ready to announce, it forces the spokesmen to lie. In order to give them plausible deniability they're usually not told.

I'm willing to bet that the spokespeople for Great Wolf and Cabela's aren't told about projects until they're ready to go, which the Marion one obviously is not since the legislation itself has not passed.

Also, as publicly-traded companies both operate under strict rules about publicizing corporate moves in order to protect their investors' interest. In other words, they are lawyers involved.

Legislation filed for new Marion development

State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, filed House Amendment 3 to Senate Bill 2093 earlier this afternoon.

At first glance there's a couple of differences between the University Town Center development bill originally sponsored by Sen. James F. Claybourne and the Marion one.

1) The former bill was the "STAR Bonds Financing Act". Bradley's bill is the "Innovation Development and Economy Act".

2) While a destination hotel has been part of both plans, specific language is found only in the Marion bill. A "destination hotel" means a "hotel complex" of at least 150 rooms that also "includes a venue for entertainment attractions, rides, or other activities oriented toward the entertainment and amusement of its guests and other patrons.

Both versions of the bill targets the development of "destination user" retail attractions defined as at least 150,000 square feet of sales floor area, does not have another Illinois location within 70 miles, has at least 30 percent of customers traveling to visit from at least 75 miles away or from out-of-state, and includes an initial capital investment of at least $30 million.

As of 2:17 p.m. when I last checked, Bradley had filed the amendment and it had been assigned to the Rules Committee. Also, the alternate chief sponsor was changed to Bradley.

This bill was originally introduced last year and dealt with mental health issues. It passed the Senate but stalled in the House. Claybourne had amended it to use as a vehicle for the Glen Carbon development.

The bill is currently in the House of Representatives and would have to pass the House and then go to the Senate for passage. If lawmakers adjourn as planned, there's less than 80 hours for this thing to pass.

Legoland Egypt?

Saturday's announcement of a new destination shopping and entertainment center on Marion's north side did not mention Legoland, but that was part of the deal in its previous incarnation, and city officials believe it still is.

Up until last Thursday, April 29, Bruce Holland had been pushing the University Town Center development at Glen Carbon, Illinois, in the St. Louis Metro-East area. After opposition to the use of STAR bonds, the local state Rep. Tom Holbrook, dropped legislation that would create the state incentives.

At some point last week Southern Illinois lawmakers state Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, and state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, jumped on board. After a rash of meetings with the lawmakers, area mayors and economic development officials, Holland announced plans for the Marion project.

The clock though is ticking. House Speaker Michael Madigan wants to adjourn at the end of this week.

So what's the history on Legoland and the Midwest?

Four years ago Nick Varney, CEO of Merlin Entertainments Group, announced that his company was "actively engaged" in finding partners and a location for a fifth Legoland theme park. They already operated three in Europe and one in North America at Carlsbad, California.

The Theme Park Insider reported the news on Jan. 19, 2006, under a headlined time frame of "3 to 5 years":

Varney said that the company's goal is to develop its Legoland parks as "mini Disney Worlds," destination resorts attracting visitors over several days, rather than just destinations for local day-trippers. As a result, Varney suggested that Merlin might build new installations of its SeaLife and Dungeon amusements next to Legolands, as well as working with local governments and developers to encourage more tourist development around the parks.

Important for Marion and Southern Illinois is the following quote.

"We have three parks in Europe. Looking to the future, in the blue sky, I could see three parks in North America, too. With a Legoland here in Southern California, it does not take a genius to see the Midwest and the East Coast as potential new sites," Varney said.

.

Merlin Entertainment found its East Coast location at Winter Haven, Florida last year when it acquired the legendary Cypress Gardens site.

In the Midwest, they first looked at Kansas City before targeting the St. Louis region.

In June 2007, the city council at Columbia, Illinois, learned that St. Louis developer G. J. Crewe, which they had been working with since 2004 to develop the Columbia Crossings site, had landed the interest of Merlin to locate a Legoland as part of the proposed 2,000 acre development. Amazingly, the city backed out of the plan.

Skip forward a couple of years with a new developer, Holland, this time, and the idea of a suburban St. Louis Legoland resurfaces at Glen Carbon, Illinois, on the northeast side of the MetroEast.

Holland was able to work with his local lawmakers to get the STAR bonds incentive legislation through the General Assembly in 2009, but Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed the bill with a change that only half of the state sales tax increment could be used rather than all of it.

Plans were to address that this year, but opposition grew from other MetroEast mayors over the retail development which they feared would threatened their own retail areas. That opposition killed the Glen Carbon proposal last week.

While Legoland officials have officially "downplayed" an Illinois location, company officials did approach Quinn last October while he visited Copenhagen to lobby the International Olympic Committee in support of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics. For those who don't know, Lego is based in Denmark.

Holland probably didn't mention the park because he was still trying to sell Merlin Entertainment on Southern Illinois. Still the possibilities are tempting for area tourism. Holbrook's legislation provides an idea of the minimum investment on a theme park needed to qualify for the bonds - $100 million. That's an investment we can take to the bank.

On the lighter side, here's something we probably won't see in a Land of Lincoln Legoland.

Quinn Pledges to Reopen Parks, Historic Sites

The newly-installed Gov. Patrick J. Quinn Administration is expected to quickly re-open the 11 state parks and 13 state historic sites shuttered by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

This would include Fort Kaskaskia, Pierre Menard Home, Fort du Chartres, Cahokia Courthouse and the Vandalia Statehouse state historic sites in northwestern part of Southern Illinois.

Quinn made the comments specifically about the parks and in general about the historic sites at a news conference in the Statehouse minutes after he took the oath of office as Illinois' newest governor.

Quinn became governor following the Illinois Senate's 59-0 vote Thursday afternoon to convict Blagojevich for abuse of power during his six years in office. Now a private citizen the former governor still faces criminal prosecution for his alleged actions.

While Quinn would not - and self-admittedly could not - identify the scope of the state's budget deficit without further study, he reiterated earlier pledges to re-open the state parks. Comments by him and other state officials in recent days indicate a budget hole of at least $4 to $5 billion.

At his news conference he pointedly stressed the importance of heritage tourism as a growing industry and the need to make certain these sites, both Lincoln-related as well as others, be open to the public.

As to the leadership of Department of Natural Resources and other staff positions, he said nothing would be announced until next week.

When asked specifically about DNR and it's recently appointed director Kurt Granberg, Quinn once again reiterated earlier comments he's made indicating his belief that a natural resources professional should be in that position. Granberg is a long-time legislator who retired from the Illinois House earlier this month.

Quinn was not asked about the larger funding issues surrounding state parks and historic sites. In Southern Illinois staffing for state parks is down 40 percent in the last five years in Region 5 of DNR.

Throughout the state staffing for the Historic Sites Division of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency is down 60 percent since 2000. If the recent cuts are restored, staffing levels will still be off 40 percent since the end of the last millennium.

Even if funding could be restored to 2000 levels, that would leave only one IHPA staffer in the 22 counties served by the Southern Illinois Tourism Development Office, an area with seven IHPA-owned historic sites.

Voters OK Rend Lake Development

Voters in Franklin and Jefferson Counties gave the Rend Lake Conservancy District a green light today to pursue private sector development on leased conservancy district lands along Rend Lake.

The district approved a request for proposals earlier this year for development along the lake front. Although this was something a part of the original plans for the lake the district's board wanted to make sure the public still support it since it had been nearly 40 years since those original plans were made.

Residents supported the proposals nearly 2 to 1 according to results in the Mount Vernon Register-News.

In Jefferson County, voters answered the advisory question with 7,309 saying yes to development and 3,639 voting against. In Franklin County, 9,813 voters said yes, and 5,559 no, for a total of 17,122 voting in favor and 9,198 against.

Support Still Needed for State Park Funding

I received the following e-mail alert yesterday from our friends at ICCVB. It deals with the funding legislation passed recently for state parks and historic sites (as well as other programs).

After their passage, the Senate forwarded two bills (one to sweep dedicated funds and the other to provide funding to keep open state historic sites and state parks) to the Governor on October 7, 2008. Governor Blagojevich has 60 calendar days to take action on this legislation, would be December 6th, six days after the stated closures of the state parks and historic sites (Novemeber 30).

We have been informed that the Governor has stated he will not sign SB 1103 until he is sure the state can withstand the current economic downturn. The Pantagraph ( Bloomington - Normal area) published a story confirming this information, which you can read by clicking on the following link: http://m1e.net/c?89081502-RDzZxpnTZJBQ2%403700274-A7LOipkAJbA36.

We will continue to fight for restoration of these vital funds and will keep you informed of any updates.

Please take time to call or e-mail the Governor’s office asking him to take quick action to sign this legislation You can send an email to Governor Blagojevich at governor@illinois.gov, or call (312) 814-2121. You can also show your support on this issue by signing an electronic petition at www.saveourstateparks.org.

According to an Associated Press article earlier this week a spokesman for the governor said the reluctance to sign the measure was due to weakening economic conditions which might force additional cuts.

“We are reviewing our revenue forecast to ensure that we will not have to make further cuts,” Guerrero said. “It would be a shame to propose restorations and then have to rescind them if the economic climate worsens.”

Rich Miller of Capitol Fax noted that quote on his blog Monday.

I can’t believe the AP let that one go unchallenged.

So what if the governor restores the cuts and revenue tanks? What does one have to do with the other?

The General Assembly made some very specific cut restorations by using targeted skims from existing money in special state funds.

Even if the overall budget completely tanks, there will be zero impact on the legislative package approved by the General Assembly, because it didn’t rely on any General Revenue Fund money. If GRF goes down, those special funds aren’t reduced.

The problem goes beyond this one bill and the parks and historic sites currently threatened. Both systems are broke. We need a better system.

Morgan Street Overpass Opens

I haven't seen an official announcement, but the new Morgan Street Overpass crossing Interstate 57 near The Hill in Marion is open to traffic.

I've already traveled over it twice today.

Down below construction crews were laying asphalt for the off ramps from the southbound lane of I-57 to Route 13. The ramps should be open later this fall.

Meanwhile Marion's newest McDonalds opened yesterday at the old Court Street location. The owners tore down the 35-year-old original building and replaced it with a new larger structure.

On the west side crews continue to install a new exterior to Burger King and just up Halfway Road halfway to The Hill, Country Inn & Suites continues its progress.

According to the Marion Daily Republican that hotel should be open by November 15, which is the same target date for the new Pirate Pete's restaurant and family fun center locating in the Illinois Centre Mall.

Southern Illinois State Historic Sites Slashed

Southern Illinois may have been spared cuts to its state parks, but no state historic sites south of Interstate 70 will be left opened after Oct. 1.

The Rockford Register-Star provides the full list:

• Cahokia Courthouse, Cahokia: The site will close Oct. 1 but will open on a limited basis for special events. It is currently open five days per week, and had 8,414 visitors in 2007.


• Fort de Chartres, Prairie du Rocher: The site will close Oct. 1 but will open on a limited basis for special events. It is currently open five days per week, and had 38,100 visitors in 2007.


• Fort Kaskaskia and Pierre Menard Home, Ellis Grove: These two sites, including the campground at Fort Kaskaskia, will close Oct. 1. These sites are currently open five days per week, and had 23,086 visitors in 2007.


• Vandalia Statehouse, Vandalia: The site will close Oct. 1 but will open on a limited basis for special events. It is currently open five days per week, and had 31,690 visitors in 2007.

Of course, it would be remiss if I didn't point out that there were already seven IHPA-owned historic sites in the region without any staff.

• Old Slave House - Purchased in 2000, never been reopened.


• Shawneetown Bank - State Bank of Illinois built in 1840, purchased by the state in 1946 and never been fully opened to the public.


• Old Rose Hotel - Oldest hotel in the state. First section built in 1812 following the New Madrid Earthquakes. Now operated as a concessionaire-leased bed and breakfast.


• Buel House - Golconda. Maintained and opened occasionally by the Pope County Historical Society.


• Kincaid Mounds - Brookport. Only recently have we had a viewing platform, site interpretation and a parking lot.


• Halfway Tavern - Marion County.


• Lincoln Trail State Memorial - Lawrenceville. Monument honors Lincoln and his family when the moved into Illinois. Luckily the National Park Service which operates the George Rogers Clark Memorial across the Wabash River at Vincennes, Indiana, comes over and mows the grass. It's currently getting a $19,700 facelift.

The only sites left are Cahokia Mounds in the MetroEast which will stay open 5 days a week.

Randolph County has an unemployment rate right now of 8.4 percent last month. It doesn't need to lose another 61,000 visitors-plus that go to these historic sites, two of which pre-date the American Revolution.

Likewise Fayette County too suffers an 8.4 percent unemployment rate and could have greatly benefited from 31,000-plus visitors coming to the state's third capitol building over the next 12 months while the nation celebrates the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Ironically, while most Lincoln sites were spared, this is one that wasn't and Lincoln served as a state representative in Vandalia.

These cuts aren't surprise. We've been warned they were coming all summer.

While this is obviously political, politics aside, the decline in funding and staffing has been an issue for the last three governors.

My only question is when is the state going to start looking at alternatives. Placing chains across a gate isn't a legitimate answer. It's just another problem that needs to be overcome.

Rumored List of State Park Closings Leaked

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Southern Illinois appears to have been spared in the latest round of cutbacks just confirmed for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Jeff Lampe, outdoor writer for the Peoria Journal-Star and Prairie State Outdoors, just posted a list of 11 state parks set to close come November 1 due to cuts.

The list, confirmed with the agency, does not include any in Southern Illinois.

Lampe quotes the agency spokesman as saying 39 workers will be laid off. Those include:

25 site technician II, 4 rangers, 3, site assistant superintendents, 1 office associate (part-time), 3 office coordinators (2 part-time, 1 full-time), 1 site security officer (IFPE union), 1 natural resource coordinator and 1 natural resource specialist.

Previous stories, including one in the Chicago Tribune on August 3, put the targeted number at nine in a story about a $9 million announced cut in the budget of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The move will strain an already stressed system and could lead to the closing of as many as nine parks with low attendance figures, according to a source familiar with the issue.

The source said staff reductions could be fewer than 100 at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which oversees 122 parks and natural areas and has lost 734 staff positions since 2002. Park advocates say the cuts will result in the loss of 163 jobs.

Two New Restaurants Target Marion

Marion is losing one but gaining two new restaurants.

The Southern Illinoisan broke the story Sunday in the business section that long-time steakhouse Ruby Tuesday will be closing when their lease runs out this fall in the Illinois Centre Mall.

Over the last decade or so the chain has focused more on stand-alone eateries, though there is no word yet as to whether they plan to build a new restaurant in Marion.

Their space in the mall won't stay empty for long. Gourmet Chef Jim Halpin, formerly with Kokopelli and the Rend Lake Resort, has been planning his own steakhouse for the site, Halpin's Great American Chop Shop.

Mall Manager Bob Hardy told The Southern a bit about Halpin I did not know.

"He used to cook for Jerry Garcia (the late performer with The Grateful Dead rock group) and has had articles written about his work in Bon Appétit magazine."

Jim contacted me at my job with the Southern Illinois Tourism Development Office a couple of months ago for some economic data about the region.

One of the surprising statistics that I found was that Williamson County residents eat out more than in surrounding counties. Maybe it's the large number of restaurants, or it may simple be due to the fact that a higher percent of county residents work and can either better afford to eat out, or don't have the time to cook at home.

The other new restaurant is another I've known about for some time, in part because it's locating about 50 feet behind my desk in the former Phar-Mor anchor store of the Illinois Centre Mall.

Pirate Pete's Family Entertainment Center promises to be a twist between a Chuck E. Cheese and a Dave and Buster's. It includes not only food, but fun, lots of it, in terms of video games and laser tag.

Like Halpin's eatery, this one will be locally owned as well. Sesser native Eugene "Ditto" Basso plans to open by mid-November.

"It's somewhat similar to Chuck E. Cheese's and Dave & Buster's, but not exactly. Our restaurant will be separate from the game room divided by a large saltwater aquarium. Chuck E. Cheese appeals mainly to children 12 and under, while Dave & Buster's is designed more for adults. We're going to try to reach a happy medium with Pirate Pete's. I've already hired a chef consultant out of Philadelphia. I will have meals that a family watching its budget can afford," Basso told the Southern.

Congratulations go out to both men.

Blog Goes Regional

Welcome to the Southern Illinois Tourism Blog, formerly the Williamson County Tourism Blog.

I started the former two years ago before joining the team at Williamson County Tourism. Now that I've moved up from one county to 22, it's time for the name to change as well.

The Board of Directors at the Southern Illinois Tourism Development Office (SITDO) hired me as the new executive director of the office in May and I started Memorial Day. SITDO's main website was AdventureIllinois.com, but when I started to work on a new website design I discovered the IllinoisAdventure.com was now available, so I registered it.

There's a blog on it, but my plans are to keep that one targeted towards tourists with events and news. This one will focus more on the tourism industry, with some items posted on both.

Eventually we'll have a separate website for SITDO with more information geared towards the tourism industry here in Southern Illinois which is growing tremendously in some areas.