House GOP leader proposes plan to speed Thompson Center sale

 

By SOPHIA TAREEN

CHICAGO (AP) — Plans to speed up the sale of the state-government owned James R. Thompson Center, and potentially avoid a lengthy public comment period, have been submitted at Gov. Bruce Rauner's request, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin said Thursday.

Earlier this week the GOP governor announced intentions to sell the 16-story downtown Chicago building he called a "wasteful" use of government resources requiring roughly $100 million in maintenance. Rauner said his plan was to move roughly 2,200 state employees to offices nearby or in Springfield and put the building up for public auction within a year.

Legislation proposed Wednesday by Durkin also detailed options to sell or lease through a sealed competitive bidding process or launch a public-private partnership. The proposal also alters how appraisals are used and also allows Rauner to skip requirements that the building first be available for sale to other public entities like the city.

The route targeting a state property control law, over one pertaining to closures, could also let Rauner bypass a feedback process with a 30-day public comment period. Already, concerns about potentially razing the facility have emerged among architectural experts who say the glass half-dome design by famed architect Helmut Jahn is a unique city landmark. Critics highlighted duct tape patches on carpets, old wiring and said the building's massive atrium isn't a wise use of space.

Durkin said the bill will get public discussion in Springfield.

"I'm not sure what a public hearing is going to accomplish. This is something that has been considered by different administrations," he said of the sale. "It just doesn't fit the needs of the state."

Rauner's administration said the proposed changes equal better value. State law says an average of three appraisals be used to determine fair market value. Instead, the proposal says the highest appraisal can be used to set the minimum auction price. Though the plan also allows a lower price to bidders attempting the sealed competitive process.

Democrats were skeptical of the sale plans, which come as Rauner and legislative Democrats are at an impasse over the state budget.

Steve Brown, House Speaker Michael Madigan's spokesman, said Rauner didn't offer enough details in Tuesday's initial announcement.

No specifics have been announced on where employees will go, including those working for statewide elected officers in the building. There's also the unanswered question of how a sale will impact commuters. The Thompson Center is connected to a busy Chicago Transit Authority hub and underground pedestrian tunnel.

 

"I'm not sure rushing is a good idea," Brown told the Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers (http://bit.ly/1KaKYdZ). "Usually when you rush things, that's when you make mistakes,"

Similar legislation is expected in the Senate. Senate President John Cullerton's office has said they'll review plans in light of state property control and closure laws.

__

The bill is HB4313.

House GOP leader proposes plan to speed Thompson Center sale

Capitol Fax.com » Redfield: Rauner demands are “beyond crazy” and “the worst kind of pandering”

 

Redfield: Rauner demands are “beyond crazy” and “the worst kind of pandering”

Wednesday, Oct 14, 2015

* From my old pal Kent Redfield…

Hi Rich,

I am just sitting around, looking for things to keep my mind off the Cards’ early exit from the playoffs. Truth be told, I am not a Cub hater, so I will gladly root for them against any of the teams left in the playoffs.

I know this is not new and it occasionally gets reported in the press, but it drives me nuts that the Governor keeps talking about term limits and redistricting reform in the same breath that he talks about necessary reforms that will help the Illinois business climate and turn our economy around.

The Governor’s constitutional amendment on redistricting (HJRCA 40 or 42) would not have any impact until the 2022 election and if the Governor gets elected to a second term and if he keeps his pledge to serve only two terms, then he would be leaving office just before the legislature elected under the new map would be sworn in.

The Governor’s constitutional amendment on term limits (HJRCA 39 or 41) is a ten year limit for legislators, but it would not have any impact on the House elections until the 2026 elections since service before January of 2017 would not count against the ten year limit.

It is a little more complicated for the Senate because a Senator elected for a four year term in 2016 and a two year term in 2020 or a two year term in 2016 and 4 year term in 2018 would have 6 years of service toward the limit before the 2022 election. Senators in these circumstances that ran in districts that were 2-4-4 in 2022 would be limited to 8 year of service since running for a 4 year term in 2024 would give them 12 years. This would potentially be 1/3 of the Senate, but incumbent losses or decisions not to run for reelection would surely make the number smaller. For the Senators with 6 years of service going into the 2022 election who ran in districts that were 4-4-2 or 4-2-4 would be able to serve a 4 year term and get to 10 years of service. This would potentially be 2/3 of members of the Senate although the number again would not be that high due to losses and decisions to run for re-election. Since the sequencing of Senate terms is a random draw, the term limit proposal would have a random effect on a few incumbent senators every 10 years, limiting them to 8 years rather than 10 year of service depending on the luck of the draw.

The limit on 8 years of service in any executive office starting in January of 2017 would have some weird effects, but basically would not have any impact until the 2022 election where all the current incumbent constitutional officers and whoever is elected Comptroller next year could not run for any executive office, assuming they run and are reelected in 2018.

Bottom line, the Governor’s term limit proposal would not have any impact until the 2026 election for the House, the 2024 election for the Senate and the 2022 election for constitutional officers.

I know I am probably being silly, acting like the Governor actually cares about the content or the impact of these proposals, but once a policy wonk, always a policy wonk.

I think I am reading these two proposals correctly. If I am, then holding the budget hostage for “reforms” that will not have any impact until 2022 for redistricting and 2022, 2024 or 2026 for term limits is beyond crazy and the worst kind of pandering. How about this for ad supporting the Turnaround Agenda?

“Turn the Illinois economy around. Tell your legislator to pass the Governor’s term limit proposal and we can force Speaker Madigan out of office in January of 2027, just a few months shy of his 85th birthday”

Having vented, I will go look for some carb free, salt free, low cholesterol way to drown my sorrows that does not violate any of the Illinois Substance Abuse Laws.

Keep up the [cardio] rehab, it is really worth committing to.

Take care,

Kent

Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » Redfield: Rauner demands are “beyond crazy” and “the worst kind of pandering”

Apple loses patent lawsuit filed by University of Wisconsin-Madison's licensing arm over chip technology - Silicon Valley Business Journal

 

Gina Hall Contributor

 

 

A jury has decided Apple used the chip technology of the University of… more

 

Apple may have to pay up to $862 million in damages to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s licensing arm after a jury found on Tuesday that the Cupertino company used chip technology without permission.

The Madison, Wisconsin, jury noted that the university licensing arm’s patent, which improves processor efficiency, is valid, according to Reuters. The case will move forward to determine how much Apple must pay for infringing on the patent.

 

A jury has decided Apple used the chip technology of the University of… more

---

---

So what does this mean for Apple?

The lawsuit
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) brought suit against Apple in January 2014 for patent infringement on a 1998 patent for improving chip efficiency.

The jury considered whether Apple's A7, A8 and A8X processors found in the iPhone 5s, 6, 6 Plus and the iPad violated the patent. Apple denied infringement and argued the patent was invalid, the report said.

Moving forward
U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled that Apple could be liable for up to $862.4 million in damages. How much of that will Apple pay? The trial will move forward in three phases: liability, damages, and a decision over whether Apple infringed the patent willfully. If Apple knowingly infringed on the patent, the penalties will be more severe.

Additional Apple suits
It doesn’t look like this case will be the end of Apple’s run-in with the university. Last month, WARF launched another lawsuit against Apple. The second suit is aimed at Apple’s latest chips, the A9 and A9X used in the iPhone 6S, 6S Plus and the iPad Pro. WARF sued Intel Corp. in 2008 for violating the same patent, but the case was settled in 2009 prior to trial.

Apple has been involved in several patent suits this year, sometimes coming out as the loser, other times emerging on top.

In early 2015, Swedish telecom company Ericsson sued Apple for patent infringement, a move that could halt sales of the popular Apple products in the U.S., although it likely wouldn’t come to such a drastic scenario. If Ericsson wins the dispute, Apple would likely have to pay Ericsson between $250 million and $750 million in fees annually, based on estimates of handset sales and royalty payments per phone, according to Reuters, citing of analysts familiar with the situation.

Read more by seeing  link at:  Apple loses patent lawsuit filed by University of Wisconsin-Madison's licensing arm over chip technology - Silicon Valley Business Journal

Rauner: Time to sell Thompson Center; Architect, former governor less than thrilled – Illinois News Network

 

SPRINGFIELD — Need a full city block in Chicago’s Loop?

Gov. Bruce Rauner may have a deal for you.

Rauner, R-Winnetka, on Tuesday announced his plan to sell the James R. Thompson Center, the state’s massive office and retail building at 100 W. Randolph St.

Although home to about 2,200 state employees, the 17-story building of nearly 1.2 million square feet is expensive to heat and cool, needs about $100 million in repairs and is inefficient as an office complex, the governor said.

“We intend to close and sell the state of Illinois building, the James R. Thompson Center, move our people out into existing space … in Springfield and in the city of Chicago and put this building onto the market to be sold to a private developer,” the governor said.

The sale, Rauner said, would probably mean demolition of Thompson Center to be replaced by a “more impactful, positive, commercial office building and retail space.”

Rauner declined to say how much he believes the state can get for the property because his plan calls for public auction, but he described the location as among the best in the city and state.

“It’s attractive,” the governor said. “We can can get good value for taxpayers by selling this building and moving out.”

Even without cash from a sale, the state cannot afford to stay in the building, Rauner said.

“We could pay people to take this building from us and save a lot of taxpayer money,” he said.

The state’s cost to keep its people in the Thompson Center are two to three times that of putting them in comparable office space in the city or elsewhere in the state, Rauner said.

By moving out and using existing or even newly leased space, the state could save $6 million to $12 million per year, Rauner said.

Redeveloped and put to better use, the property could also generate as much as $20 million in tax revenue for the city and for Chicago Public Schools, Rauner said, adding that new construction could generate 8,000 short-term jobs.

“By any measure we’re high cost here and need to move,” Rauner said.

Rauner said the proposed sale has nothing to do with the state’s budget crisis or his “Turnaround Agenda” but simply represents good financial management.

He also said it’s not part of some larger plan to move more state jobs to Springfield.

The plan would need legislative approval, and the Republican governor said he’d spoken with House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, both Chicago Democrats. He described them as open to the idea.

Steve Brown, spokesman for Madigan, said the speaker was aware the governor was announcing his plan and remains willing to listen.

That said, Brown added, there are questions still to be answered, including where workers would move to and to what ends the sale revenue and savings would be put.

Rauner said he’d also notified both Gov. James R. Thompson, for whom the center is named, and the building’s architect, Helmut Jahn.

Thompson, a Republican and the governor from 1977 to 1991, didn’t sound overjoyed about the idea in a short conversation with Illinois News Network.

“Well, as to Gov. Rauner’s proposal, I don’t have any comment because that’s up to him and the Legislature to determine the reason why deferred maintenance is so high,” Thompson said.

That maintenance was neglected during the administration of Gov. Pat Quinn, a Chicago Democrat in office from 2009 to 2015, Thompson said, “and that’s the problem.”

Quinn’s predecessor, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, at one time essentially proposed a complex mortgaging scheme for the building, but that plan fell through.

Gov. Rauner on Tuesday declined to characterize the aesthetics or architectural significance of the Thompson Center, instead telling the media, “I’ll leave that for you to discuss.”

Architect Helmut Jahn criticized the state for not maintaining the building and said it should be repurposed, not demolished.

The architect suggested the building’s restaurants and retail outlets be upgraded and part of the building be converted for round-the-clock uses including a hotel, apartments and condominiums.

“Architectural history is full of examples where such repurposing has brought new life to structures like this,” he said in a prepared statement. “The building will only survive this way, and will become a landmark for the 21st Century.”

James R. Thompson Center

Originally: State of Illinois Center
Renamed: In 1993 to honor James R. Thompson, governor from 1977 to 1991
Architect: Helmut Jahn
Built: 1979 to 1985
Cost: About $172 million
Size: 17 stories tall, 1,193,163 square feet
Location: 100 W. Randolph Street, Chicago. Occupies the block bounded by LaSalle, Randolph, Clark and Lake streets
Materials: Steel, pink and gray granite, concrete
Houses: About 2,200 employees from dozens of state agencies, plus shops and restaurants
Called: Everything from “visionary” and “a strong, powerful and important statement ” to “The Cash Register” and an “impractical monstrosity”

Rauner: Time to sell Thompson Center; Architect, former governor less than thrilled – Illinois News Network

Exelon Defers Retirements of 2 Illinois Nuclear Plants- Power Engineering

 

Exelon Defers Retirements of 2 Illinois Nuclear Plants

Sept. 10

Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) said it plans to run the Quad Cities nuclear power plant through May 2018 and the Byron nuclear plant through May 2019.

The utility said all of its nuclear plants in the PJM market cleared the transition capacity auction for the 2017-18 planning year, and that it will defer any decisions about future operations of Quad Cities and Byron, which the companies considers economically challenged. The auction results take effect in June 2017. The decision to defer the retirements comes after analysis of the present and future economics of the plants, taking into consideration the constructive market trends from the PJM capacity auction reforms.

All of the nuclear plants have also cleared the transition capacity auction for the 2016-17 planning year, but Quad Cities, Oyster Creek and Three Mile Island nuclear plants did not clear the capacity auction for the 2018-19 planning year.

"The new market reforms help to recognize the unique value of always-on nuclear power, while preserving the reliability of our electric system," said Chris Crane, Exelon president and CEO. "However, these plants are long-lived assets with decades of useful life left, and today's decision is only a short-term reprieve. Policy reforms are still needed to level the playing field for all forms of clean energy and best position the state of Illinois to meet EPA's new carbon reduction rules."

Exelon said it plans to bid all of its eligible nuclear plants into the 2019-20 PJM capacity auction held next year. PJM holds a capacity auction each year to ensure enough power generating resources are available to meet demand in the region that covers 13 states and the District of Columbia.

The Nuclear Energy Institue (NEI) said in a release that, although the decision is temporary, it is a good step for the state.

"Although only a temporary reprieve, Exelon's decision is an enormous win for the state of Illinois. The Quad Cities and Byron nuclear stations employ almost 1,800 people directly, and are responsible for an additional 7,500 indirect jobs in the state," said Richard Myers, NEI's Vice President for Policy Development and Planning. "The two facilities produce $3.1 billion a year in total economic value for the state, according to an economic analysis conducted by NEI. In addition to this immense economic value, these nuclear energy facilities are essential if Illinois hopes to reduce its carbon emissions. Quad Cities and Byron produce 34.6 billion kilowatt-hours of carbon-free electricity every year-more than three times the state's entire production from renewable

NRC Issues White Finding for Entergy Nuclear Power Plant in Louisiana - Power Engineering

Auditing company to act as interim Poplar Grove treasurer

 

By Shelby R. Farrell

Reporter

POPLAR GROVE – The Village of Poplar Grove’s Board of Trustees was quick to appoint its auditing firm as interim village treasurer after being without one for almost two weeks.

Maria Forrest submitted a letter of resignation to the Board of Trustees saying she would resign as of Sept. 15, and at a Special Village Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 28, the trustees approved for Sikich, LLP to act as interim village treasurer, completing those duties as assigned.The board also accepted the letter of resignation at that meeting.

Forrest was the interim treasurer for the village from 2009 to 2011 when she was appointed, and there was no reason for her resignation in the letter, which was dated Sept. 15 and said, “Please accept my resignation effective today Sept. 15, 2015.”

At the special meeting, Village President John Neitzel thanked her for her time in the position where her duties and responsibilities included cash management and investing, debt management, payroll and pension administration, preparing financial statements, budgeting, financial planning and forecasting.

“Maria has been the appointed treasurer since 2009, and we’ve made such monumental progress through her work since then, and we thank her for her support and the contribution that she has made to the village,” he said.

Neitzelwas also elected in 2009, and the village was $450,000 in debt. Since then, the village implemented taxes and other ways of fixing the financial deficiencies, and in 2015, the village was able to fund more than $950,000 worth of capital improvements, according to a letter-to-the-editor that Neitzel wrote to the Rockford Register Star in August.

In the same article, he said the problems stemmed from the village growing from “a few hundred to our current population of more than 5,000 residents” in the last two decades and the village government not growing with the village itself.

To help further fix the gap, Village Administrator Diana Dykstra requested an audit from Lauterbach and Amen this year, which revealed problems with money handling and financial policies. The company gave the village 28 recommendations for their financial woes, which the board plans to implement at least a quarter of it by the end of the year.

Dykstra said that when she got Forrest’s letter to resign, she decided to ask the auditing for recommendations on where to find an interim treasurer.

“Sikich came highly recommended as one of the top three auditing firms in the state,” she said. “Lauterbach is one of the others as well, and so we wanted a different firm to perform those treasurer functions.”

She said there shouldn’t be much of a difference between using a firm versus appointing an individual to perform the duties, and the village will be assigned one person from the firm. She also said they won’t have to go through a learning curve because the people who work at Sikich, LLP are familiar with the software that the village treasurer would use.

“Our plan would be to have them do bank reconciliations, forecasting and reporting to the board, any journal entries that may be required and payroll,” Dykstra said. “I think the benefit is the skills and abilities of this audit firm to come in and possibly make recommendations to better practices based on government standards.”

Dykstra said the village should need the firm to fulfill these functions with a staff accountant in eight hours a week at $100 an hour, working under hourly wages. She also later said the village “won’t need the senior partner to come and do bank reconciliations,” which would cost $120 an hour.

“I think there will be a time frame where this cost will exceed our monthly allotment,” she said.

“However, it will clear up some inefficiencies. I feel confident this will balance out by the year-end to provide the additional guidance we needed and streamline those duties. The goal would be to make ourselves more efficient and when we are prepared to make a decision about the position, we will have a better understanding of what positions are needed.”

Above is from FACEBOOK:  Auditing company to act as interim Poplar Grove treasurer

Thompson Center for sale, Rauner says | WGN-TV

 

CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner wants to sell the James R. Thompson Center, which houses state government offices in downtown Chicago.

Earlier this year, Rauner's administration asked for an appraisal of the 16-story glass paneled building. Rauner spokesman Lance Trover confirmed Rauner's plans to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Rauner was expected to offer more details Tuesday at a news conference.

The Thompson Center opened in 1985 and was designed by architect Helmut Jahn. The building is notable for its sleek design among more stately downtown buildings, including neighboring Chicago City Hall. The Thompson Center has a round shape and a large atrium.

However, parts of the building have fallen into disrepair and require work.

Thompson Center for sale, Rauner says | WGN-TV