Boone County to sell approximately $6 million in Recovery Zone Bond Authority to Navistar

At tonight’s Boone County’s Finance Committee meeting, the subcommittee recommended that the County Board allocate the county’s Recovery Bonds to Navistar.  Approximately $7,600 will be paid to the county by Navistar for this action.  The following is an explanation of what will be happening with the funds.  It is sad that no corporation with jobs closer to Boone County could not use the funds.

new law sponsored by State Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi (D-Joliet) earlier this year has played a vital role in Navistar's decision to keep their corporate headquarters in Illinois

Wilhelmi's initiative allows a county or municipality to voluntarily waive all or a portion of their authorized allocations of Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds, Recovery Zone Facility Bonds, or Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds, to the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA). By doing so, IFA can pool the respective bond allocations and make the larger sum available for larger projects outside of those communities as only IFA has statewide jurisdiction.

On Tuesday[9-14-2010], the Illinois Finance Authority voted unanimously in favor of awarding $145 million in Recovery Zone Facility Bonds to Navistar International Corporation…will provide low-interest financing to purchase, renovate, equip, and construct additions to nine existing buildings located on an approximately 87 acre site in Lisle, as well as finance leasehold improvements and equipment related to expanding a warehouse facility in Joliet to nearly 338,000 square

bond allocation was made available when Elgin, Joliet, Naperville, Rockford, Douglas County, DuPage County, Henry County, Kankakee County, and Winnebago County, among others, offered some or all of their respective bond allocations for Navistar's use. It is expected that more counties and municipalities will offer their bond allocations for the project as Recovery Zone bonds are set to sunset at the end of the calendar year.

Click on the following for more details on the Navistar project:  Tag:wilhelmi

Here is the Boone County Resolution: 

Click on the photocopies to enlarge.

Lifelines for the needy disappearing - Sep. 16, 2010

with more people than ever living in poverty, the government's unprecedented effort to strengthen the safety net for needy Americans is running out.

Click on the following for more details:  Lifelines for the needy disappearing - Sep. 16, 2010

State agency approves Navistar financing :: Naperville Sun :: Local News

Is this where Boone County’s allocation of Recovery Bonds go? 

The deal grants inexpensive financing through federal Recovery Zone Facility Bonds to the engine and large truck manufacturer for improvements to the site of its new world headquarters.

The inexpensive financing arrangement was credited with closing the deal for the major employer to park itself in the western suburbs.

Several Illinois municipalities and counties contributed their allocations of the bonds, including Rockford, Aurora, Elgin and others. The city of Naperville contributed $11.9 million.

Click on the following for more details:  State agency approves Navistar financing :: Naperville Sun :: Local News

McHenry County May Give Sportsplex, Stadium More Time

This article by a blogger in Algonquin/Lake in the Hills details what McHenry County is going with its remaining stimulus funding.

County Board gave all three projects the greenlight earlier this year it set a Sept. 30 deadline to issue federally tax-subsidized revenue bonds for the supposedly shovel-ready projects.

Click on the following for the rest of the story:  FirstElectricNewspaper: County May Give Sportsplex, Stadium More Time

Genoa eyes ARR bond sale to fund street work using

The Boone County Board did not pass the enabling legislation for such funds until December 2009.  Such funds are available to for private firms and government units.  The allocation for Boone County is in the process of being returned to the state.

proposed sale of Build America Bonds for much-needed street improvements.

The city is looking to sell $550,000 of the bonds for roadway improvement

Build America Bond program was implemented under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to provide funding for state and local government public works projects at lower-than-market-rate borrowing costs. The U.S. Department of the Treasury makes a direct payment to the state or local governmental issuer in an amount equal to 35 percent of the required interest payment on the bond

Genoa eyes bond sale to fund street work :: The Courier News :: Local News

Update on McHenry County Sportsplex

On August 1, 2010 I posted a  lead to a newspaper story about Lakewood/McHenry County using stimulus bonding power [$18mm] to aid a private developer in building a very large sports complex. See http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2010/08/foreign-funding-and-key-to-165-acre.html  It appears that the blog, First Electric Newspaper, out of Algonquin, Illinois has some very interesting comments regarding the developer.  See http://www.firstelectricnewspaper.com/2010/08/unapproved-center-disgraced-cfo-linked.html. 

That blog questions the credentials of  the developer and points out the involvement of  Terry Gaouette in the project.  Mr. Gaouetter was the Chief  Financial Officer and CEO of the Milwaukee Public Museum. He  authorized the misuse of trust funds in a 2006 scandal at the museum.  See http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/29189214.html Felony charges were pressed against Mr. Gaouette  however he received only a small fine [$500] and the lost of his CPA license for two years. 

Foreign funding and Federal Stimulus Bonds key to 165-acre McHenry County Sportsplex project

I do not necessarily advocate sportsplexes but here is how McHenry County used their federal stimulus bonding capacity and other programs. McHenry County passed their ARA declaration in June 2009 and had it all allocated by the time Boone County passed its declaration in December 2009.  The time for allocation is almost over and Boone County’s share [approximately $2million] will revert back to the state.

Each investor has to put in $500,000, which has to support 10 jobs for at least two years. In return for the foreign investment, the investor goes through an expedited visa-application process for himself, a spouse and their children.

The sports complex, which will be on the west side of Route 47, south of the northwest leg of Route 176, has received permission to sell $18 million in recovery zone bonds to help jumpstart the project and purchase the land, which should take place by mid-October, Porter said.

playing fields for team sports such as soccer, baseball, lacrosse, basketball and volleyball. There will be a restaurant, retail space and indoor sports facilities. It is being designed with an outdoor championship arena able to accommodate local, national and international athletic teams

Click on the following for more details:  Northwest Herald | Foreign funding key to project

Our View: Genoa still best rail route | Daily Chronicle

the best bet in getting future federal funding is by using a less costly and less complicated route that can more easily be upgraded to allow for higher speeds. That means going through Genoa.

For Rockford, it is not Amtrak, but Metra, that represents the primary goal. The Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning has called implementation of passenger rail its “top regional priority” for the Rockford region, and long has pushed to locate passenger (Amtrak) and commuter (Metra) rail on the same line.
Metra would be a fine addition to Rockford, but at what cost? RMAP estimates it will cost $247 million to get Metra there. That doesn’t include the estimated $10 million in annual operating expenses.

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Our View: Genoa still best rail route | Daily Chronicle

DeKalb Courthouse, jail projects go to public hearing | Daily Chronicle

 DeKalb County will enjoy low rates for these projects through the federal stimulus program.  Boone County board members should note the start date of DeKalb’s new jail. After that is completed Boone County will lose a sizeable source of revenue.

Finance Committee agreed to use a combination of Recovery Zone Bonds and Build America Bonds, which are federal stimulus programs with a subsidized interest rate.

majority of the jail project may be funded by new revenue generated by an expansion of the landfill, which is a multiyear process needing approval by both the county and the state. Those bonds and the start of the jail construction are slated for 2012, though Hanson said it all depends on the landfill outcome.

Courthouse, jail projects go to public hearing | Daily Chronicle

Sterling gets bond authority to develop: Unnamed retailer interested in east end

The city of Sterling was given authority Tuesday to issue $6.2 million in federal economic stimulus bonds to an undisclosed retail builder interested in moving into the city’s east end.  The unanimous vote by the Whiteside County Board does not release the money, but it gives Sterling the authority to issue the bonds if the builder commits to the project.

Click on the following for more details:  saukvalley.com | Sterling gets bond authority to develop: Unnamed retailer interested in east end

Permanent roof, other work going on at Algonquin's Riverside Square

Here is where Rockford’s AMCORE Bank lost some of its money--$12.100,000

Amcore began foreclosure proceedings against the company, which still owes the bank $12.1 million, according to court records.

Click on the following for more details: Daily Herald | Permanent roof, other work going on at Algonquin's Riverside Square

A blog in Algonquin indicates that work on the project by AMCORE has stopped.  What does this mean?  Can the building be sold now?  Can it survive the Winter or condemnation by the City?  Read the rest of the story at:  http://www.firstelectricnewspaper.com/2009/12/riverside-square-conflict-looms-in.html

Bank of America to repay TARP, raise cash

 

Bank of America Corp. said Wednesday it plans to repay its $45 billion in government bailout funds in the next few days

The bank said it has paid $2.54 billion to the government so far in dividends on the TARP money. BofA said it is not yet exercising its right to repurchase warrants that the government received in return for the bailout money. Warrants are financial instruments that allow the holder to buy stock in the future at a fixed price.

Click on the following for more details:  Business Journal | Bank of America to repay TARP, raise cash

Robert Reich: The Housing Crisis and Wall Street Shame

Sunday, November 29, 2009

One out of four homeowners is now under water, owing more on their homes than the homes are worth. Why? The biggest single factor behind the housing crisis is rising unemployment. According to the latest ABC-Washington Post poll, one out of every three Americans has either lost their job or lives in a household with someone who has lost a job. Today it takes two and sometimes three incomes to buy the groceries and pay the mortgage or the rent. So if one of those incomes is gone, a homeowner can't make the payment.
The scourge of unemployment is splitting America into three groups: (1) the third just mentioned, whose households are in danger of losing their homes and whose kids are surviving on food stamps (that's up to one in four children in America today); (2) the vast majority of Americans who are managing but worried about keeping their jobs and homes; and (3) a small number who are taking home even more winnings than they did in the boom year 2007.
Prominent among category (3) are Wall Street bankers, many of whom are now concluding their most profitable year ever. Goldman Sachs is so flush it's preparing to give out bonuses in a few weeks totaling $17 billion. That will mean eight-figure compensation packages for lots of Goldman executives and traders. JPMorgan Chase is rumored to have a bonus pool of around $5 billion. The three other major Wall Street banks are ratcheting up their compensation packages so their "talent" won't be poached by Goldman or JPMorgan.
Wall Street is booming again in large part because the rest of America -- categories (1) and (2), above -- bailed it out to the tune of $700 billion last year. The Street has repaid some of that but, according to the bailout program's inspector general, much of it is gone forever. For example, the taxpayer money that bailed out giant insurer AIG went directly through AIG to its "counterparties" like Goldman Sachs -- to whom Tim Geithner, according to the inspector general, gave away the store. As Goldman Sachs prepares to dole out some $17 billion to its executives and traders, it's worth noting that Goldman received $13 billion a year ago from the rest of us via AIG and Geithner, no strings attached.
Which brings us back to homeowners who are falling further behind. The $75 billion federal program designed to bribe banks to modify mortgages has been a bust. No one knows the exact number of mortgages that have been modified (that will be reported next month) but housing experts I've talked with say it's a tiny fraction of the number of homeowners in trouble. Seems that the big banks can't be bothered. "Some of the firms ought to be embarrassed," Michael Barr, the assistant Treasury secretary for financial institutions told the New York Times.
Barr says the government will try to use shame as a corrective, publicly naming institutions that have moved too slowly. But the banks have done almost nothing to date. "We've made dramatic improvements, and we continue to try to get better," says a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase, but as a practical matter JPMorgan has done squat.
Shame? If we've learned anything over the last year, it's that Wall Street has none. Ten months ago Wall Street lobbyists beat back a proposal to give bankruptcy judges the right to amend mortgages in order to pressure lenders to reduce principle owed, just like Wall Street lobbyists are now beating back tough regulations to prevent the Street from causing another meltdown.
Shame? For Wall Street, it all comes down to PR, at minimal cost. Goldman Sachs, attempting to preempt a firestorm of public outrage when it dispenses its $17 billion of bonuses, is setting up a crudely conceived $500 million PR program to help Main Street.
Shame won't work. Only political muscle and courage will. Congress and the Obama administration should give homeowners the right to go to a bankruptcy judge and have their mortgages modified.
And while they're at it, resurrect the Glass-Steagall Act that used to separate investment from commercial banking, so Wall Street can't continue to use other people's money to gamble.
Finally, before Goldman hands out $17 billion in bonuses, claw back the $13 billion Goldman took from AIG and the rest of us and add it to the pool of money going for mortgage relief.

For more of Mr. Reich’s opinions and analysis go to:  http://www.robertreich.blogspot.com/

Special Report - Rebuilding the global economy - Lots of Stimulus Money — and Concerns About Where to Put It to Work - NYTimes.com

Stimulus plans of ARRP bonds for McHenry County criticized by NY Times.

Under the recovery act, McHenry County has the authority to issue $27 million in low-interest bonds for private projects. Mr. Houser put a plan to the county board to issue $15 million in low-interest bonds to build a ballpark for a minor league baseball team.

A problem with stimulus funding, experts say, is that dubious projects too often jump to the head of the line. Projects with political backing win funding, regardless of merit, while more worthwhile projects languish for decades.

Click on the following:  Special Report - Rebuilding the global economy - Lots of Stimulus Money — and Concerns About Where to Put It to Work - NYTimes.com

Northwest Herald | Cary set to hit the road

Cary uses federal Bond Program. 

The McHenry County Board voted in August to give the village $5 million in economic stimulus bonding power.

The bonds were made available under the federal Build America Bond program and is the first time in Cary’s history that the village has issued general obligation bonds, which contributed to the village’s rating.

“All taxpayers should be very happy about the improved bond rating,” Village President Tom Kierna said.

The bonds would be paid back through existing funding mechanisms such as motor fuel tax, and would not require additional taxes.

Northwest Herald | Cary set to hit the road

DeKalb County gives first nod to jail, courthouse expansion plan

the county could take advantage of Build America Bonds or Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds, both of which have low interest rates and were created under the federal stimulus package. The county has already declared itself a Recovery Zone, making it eligible to issue about $6 million in bonds.

Courthouse
Estimated cost: $10 million to $12 million
How to pay: Tax revenue from County Farm property
Bonds issued: In 2010, probably Build America Bonds and Recovery Zone Bonds
Construction timeline: 2010-2011
Jail
Estimated cost: $30 million
How to pay: New revenue through landfill expansion or general-obligation bond referendum
Bonds issued: In 2012
Construction timeline: 2012-2014

County gives first nod to jail, courthouse expansion plan | Daily Chronicle

Mental Health Board bonds OK’d

Has Boone County officials even discussed what it will do with its ARRA funds? 

Board members [of McHenry County] voted, 13-8 with two abstentions, to allocate the bonds and allow the mental health board to use some of the $4 million to reimburse for expenses incurred to date planning for the expansion

McHenry County received $45.8 million in federal bonding authority under the American Reinvestment and Recovery  Act  (ARRA) to jump-start shovel-ready projects. The bonds are supposed to encourage lending by giving investors a 45 percent refund of the federal taxes payable on them, which in turn lowers interest rates.

The mental health board request represented the last of the $18.3 million in bonding authority for government agencies. The remaining $27.5 million must be used for private-sector projects

Click on the following for the rest of the story:  Northwest Herald | Mental Health Board bonds OK’d