State lawmaker awaiting data on fairgrounds' condition
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">State Rep. Raymond Poe said Tuesday he expects to know soon just what kind of condition the Illinois State Fairgrounds is in.
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Poe, R-Springfield, said he was assured by officials with the Capital Development Board that he will be given the information he requested last week, including what kinds of fairgrounds maintenance work needs to be undertaken. Poe filed a House resolution to obtain the data.
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">"They said they have some preliminary information already on the fairgrounds, and they think they can bring it together," Poe said of a meeting he had with CDB officials Monday. "It's an assessment of what their needs are and what needs to be done in the future."
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Poe said he remains concerned about conditions at the fairgrounds after an electrical failure in February forced its virtual shutdown, costing Springfield millions of dollars in lost revenue from canceled and relocated events. The CDB has determined that 22 miles of high-voltage cable running under the grounds needs to be replaced, a project estimated to cost $3 million and take until late May to complete.
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">"Everyone hears there's an abnormal amount of roofs leaking," Poe said. "Is that going to shut down some event some day because we have a big, leaky roof? Those are the kinds of things I'm looking for."
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">CDB Director Jan Grimes deferred comments to spokesman Dave Blanchette. He said the information being provided to Poe is part of a comprehensive assessment going on of thousands of state properties all across Illinois. The report is expected to be finished this fall.
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">About 3,200 pages of raw data - including detailed engineering reports - have been compiled just on the 366-acre fairgrounds that has about 170 buildings on it.
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">"We're condensing it into a more readable report," Blanchette said.
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The information will include what work needs to be done, whether it's new roofs, water and sewer lines or painting, as well as rough cost estimates.
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The State Journal-Register requested the same information last week, but state officials determined the material was in draft form and thus not public information.
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">"It will be public information when we make a report out of it," Blanchette said of the information that will be turned over to Poe.
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Also Tuesday, Rep. Rich Brauer, R-Petersburg, said he will file a resolution asking Auditor General William Holland to conduct a financial review of money spent on fairgrounds' maintenance.
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">"There's been a lot of deferred maintenance that's been taken out of the state budget," Brauer said. "We can look at it from year to year and hopefully see a pattern. I want to look at what's been spent out there the last half dozen years."
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Doug Finke can be reached at (217) 788-1527.