Infrastructure

Illinois is going to see a boom in construction now that Rebuild Illinois, a $45 billion capital plan, has become law.  The House and Senate have both passed a comprehensive capital bill, which includes both vertical and horizontal, on a bipartisan roll call in the two-day overtime session. Rebuild Illinois will span the next 6 years.  It includes $33.2 billion for transportation; $3.5 billion for community colleges, state universities and local schools; $4.3 billion for state facilities; and $420 million for expansion of broadband Internet to underserved areas.

The Governor’s Office released the following summary of the key components of the projects:

Transportation: $33.2 billion

  • Over $14 billion for new roads in bridges:
    • $10.4 billion for state roads and bridges
    • $3.9 billion for local governments to rebuild their roads and bridges
  • Nearly $11 billion for IDOT’s Multi-Year Plan for roads and bridges
  • $4.7 billion for mass transit, including the RTA (CTA, Metra and Pace)
  • $1 billion for passenger rail, including Amtrak and other inter-city rail projects
  • $558 million for aeronautics
  • $492 million for the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE)
  • $312 million for grade crossing protection
  • $150 million for ports
  • $679 million for other transportation projects

Education: $3.5 billion

  • $2.9 billion for higher education, including deferred maintenance and new projects at public universities, private universities and community colleges
  • $415 million for preK-12 school maintenance
  • $111 million for early childhood education

State Facilities: $4.4 billion

  • $4 billion for deferred maintenance and new projects at state facilities, such as the decrepit state crime lab
  • $350 million for the State Capitol

Environment/Conservation: $1 billion

  • $867 million for environmental, conservation and recreation projects, including:
    • $290 million for hazardous waste
    • $110 million for water revolving fund
    • $100 million for unsewered communities
    • $92 million for ecosystem restoration
    • $75 million for park and recreational facility construction
    • $40 million for well plugging
    • $35 million for land acquisition
    • $31 million for flood mitigation
    • $29 million for Illinois green infrastructure grants
    • $23 million for Open Space Land Acquisition and Development
    • $22 million for dam and waterway projects
    • $20 million for conservation reserve enhancement
  • $140 million for renewable energy projects, including solar and energy efficiency upgrades at state facilities and transportation electrification in low-income communities

Broadband Deployment: $420 million

  • $400 million for statewide broadband expansion
  • $20 million for Illinois Century Network

Healthcare and Human Services: $465 million

  • $200 million for affordable housing
  • $200 million for hospital and healthcare transformation
  • $50 million for community health centers
  • $15 million for human services grant program

Economic and Community Development: $1.8 billion

  • $594 million for community development
  • $425 million for economic development
  • $401 million for public infrastructure
  • $112 million for education and scientific facilities
  • $75 million for economically depressed areas
  • $51 million for museums
  • $50 million for libraries
  • $50 million for emerging technology enterprises
  • $50 million for the arts
  • $25 million for an apprenticeship program
  • $15 million for Minority Owned Business Program

The revenue to fund Rebuild Illinois comes from various sources, including:

  • Increase in the gas tax from 19 cents per gallon to 38 cents and indexes it to the Consumer Price Index
  • Increasing vehicle fees from the current $101 per year to $151
  • Electric vehicles would have a registration fee of $248 per year, instead of $34 every other year.
  • Rates for daily and hourly parking garages would see a 6 percent tax add-on and rates for monthly parking would incur a 9% tax
  • $23 billion in new bonding authority
  • Expand land-based gaming by adding six casinos in Illinois in Chicago, Rockford, Waukegan, South Suburbs, Danville, and Williamson County
  • Legalizes sports betting online, at casinos, and at sports stadiums
  • Allows gaming at racetracks
  • Increases the number of gaming machines at locations with video gaming from 5 to 6, increases the maximum bet, and allows for progressive jackpots up to $10,000.

The Governor signed Rebuild Illinois into law on Friday, June 28th surrounded by lawmakers from both parties. The full capital plan is contained in four pieces of legislation:  HB 62, SB 1939, HB 142, and SB 690.