| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
1 | AN ACT concerning State government.
| |||||||||||||||||||
2 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a strategic interest in | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | the operations of the Illinois International Port District and | |||||||||||||||||||
4 | its Board, whose function is to develop the District's port and | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | harbor facilities, issue construction permits, regulate the | |||||||||||||||||||
6 | District's facilities and waterways, establish and operate | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | foreign trade zones, and govern and administer all the District | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | area within Chicago's corporate limits; and
| |||||||||||||||||||
9 | WHEREAS, The Illinois International Port District is a very | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | significant driver of freight movement and economic activity | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | throughout the State of Illinois, including the downstate | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | waterways and especially the Mississippi River and the Illinois | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | River; and
| |||||||||||||||||||
14 | WHEREAS, In 2010, cargo shipments at the Port of Chicago | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | directly or indirectly supported 6,930 jobs and generated | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | $425,000,000 in revenue for Illinois firms, according to the | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | Washington D.C.-based American Great Lakes Ports Association; | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | and
| |||||||||||||||||||
19 | WHEREAS, The Port of Chicago links rail and trucking lines | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | with barges and ships supplying the Great Lakes and nearby | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | rivers and handles an estimated 26,000,000 cargo tons annually | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | throughout its 1,500 acre complex on the far south side, | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | according to a recent estimate by a consortium of Great Lakes |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | shipping interests; and
| ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, In 1978, the Capital Development Board provided | ||||||
3 | funds to the Illinois International Port District as authorized | ||||||
4 | by Section 13 of the Capital Development Board Act, which | ||||||
5 | provides for repayment by the Illinois International Port | ||||||
6 | District using a flexible formula based on specified levels of | ||||||
7 | revenues and profits; and
| ||||||
8 | WHEREAS, In the over 30 years since that payment from the | ||||||
9 | Capital Development Board, the Illinois International Port | ||||||
10 | District has never been required to make a single payment to | ||||||
11 | the Capital Development Board because it has never reached the | ||||||
12 | levels of revenues and profits that would require such payment; | ||||||
13 | and
| ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, The Capital Development Board annually certifies | ||||||
15 | to the Illinois International Port District that it owes no | ||||||
16 | payment for the year to the Capital Development Board; and
| ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, It is virtually impossible that the Illinois | ||||||
18 | International Port District will ever reach the level of | ||||||
19 | revenues and profits that would require it to make a payment to | ||||||
20 | the Capital Development Board; and
| ||||||
21 | WHEREAS, In its financial statements for each year since at |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | least 2005, the Capital Development Board has "reserved" the | ||||||
2 | entire amount lent to the Illinois International Port District, | ||||||
3 | indicating that it does not expect any payments under the loan, | ||||||
4 | and that non-payment of the loan would not require any future | ||||||
5 | or present cash outlay by the Capital Development Board or the | ||||||
6 | State; and
| ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, For the reasons discussed above, the existence of | ||||||
8 | this debt is of no value whatsoever to the State and serves | ||||||
9 | only to limit the investment in the Port of Chicago and the | ||||||
10 | amount of economic activity throughout Illinois water and rail | ||||||
11 | lines; and
| ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, Official forgiveness of the obligation from the | ||||||
13 | Illinois International Port District to the Capital | ||||||
14 | Development Board would benefit the entire State of Illinois by | ||||||
15 | allowing greater investment in the State's waterways and | ||||||
16 | freight facilities; therefore
| ||||||
17 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| ||||||
18 | represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||||
19 | Section 5. The Capital Development Board Act is amended by | ||||||
20 | changing Section 13 as follows:
| ||||||
21 | (20 ILCS 3105/13) (from Ch. 127, par. 783)
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Sec. 13.
The Board may provide cargo handling facilities | ||||||
2 | and facilities
designed for the movement of cargo to or from | ||||||
3 | cargo handling facilities for
the use of regional port | ||||||
4 | districts. Pursuant to appropriations setting forth
specific | ||||||
5 | projects and regional port districts, the Board shall contract
| ||||||
6 | with the regional port district named in the Act making the
| ||||||
7 | appropriation for cargo handling facilities. Such contract | ||||||
8 | shall provide
that the regional port district shall remit to | ||||||
9 | the State of Illinois an
amount equal to not more than 20%
of | ||||||
10 | the gross receipts attributable to those facilities, and not | ||||||
11 | less than
20% of the profit attributable to those facilities, | ||||||
12 | whether
collected by the regional port district or through an | ||||||
13 | operator or other
intermediary, until the full amount | ||||||
14 | appropriated and expended by the
State of Illinois has been | ||||||
15 | remitted to the State. The exact amount of,
the manner of, the | ||||||
16 | method of and the time for such remittances shall be
agreed | ||||||
17 | upon by the particular port district and the Board
acting | ||||||
18 | through its Executive Director, and such agreement may, from | ||||||
19 | time to
time, be amended by the parties so as to alter or | ||||||
20 | modify the amount of,
manner of, method of and time for the | ||||||
21 | remittance, including, but not
limited to, the temporary | ||||||
22 | forgiveness, suspension or delay of the
remittances not to | ||||||
23 | exceed 24 months for any single suspension or delay. The
| ||||||
24 | payback is subordinate solely to any outstanding public bond | ||||||
25 | agreements
existing at the time of the contract and solely for | ||||||
26 | the period of time of
the running of those bond agreements. For |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | any contract entered into under this Section, if, for a period | ||||||
2 | of 25 years, a regional port district has not been required to | ||||||
3 | remit any amount because the regional port district has failed | ||||||
4 | to achieve the required level of profit, then the regional port | ||||||
5 | district shall not be required to remit any amount under the | ||||||
6 | contract.
| ||||||
7 | This Section shall apply to all regional port district
| ||||||
8 | facilities to be constructed by the Board, including projects | ||||||
9 | for which
appropriations or reappropriations have been made | ||||||
10 | prior to June 30,
1976, and to all contracts existing prior to | ||||||
11 | the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1985 as well as | ||||||
12 | contracts entered into on or after such date.
| ||||||
13 | (Source: P.A. 84-781.)
| ||||||
14 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
15 | becoming law.
|