Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Rauner Promises To Give CPS $45M A Year — If Rahm OKs Thompson Center Sale

By Heather Cherone | May 5, 2017 12:10pm | Updated on May 8, 2017 8:08am
 The sale of the Thompson Center would be a
The sale of the Thompson Center would be a "home run" for state and city taxpayers, Gov. Bruce Rauner
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Heather Cherone

THE LOOP — Gov. Bruce Rauner said Friday he would earmark the additional property tax revenue generated by the sale and replacement of the Thompson Center for Chicago schools — promising the cash-strapped district an additional $45 million a year through 2040 — if city officials give the sale a green light.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said this week he was blocking the sale of the three-decade-old state office building at 100 W. Randolph St. in the heart of the Loop until he's certain that Chicago taxpayers won't get "stuck with the tab" for rebuilding the massive CTA station underneath the state building.

Rauner — whose office called Emanuel "greedy" and accused him of trying to "extort" the state earlier this week — said the mayor and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan were engaged in a "tag team effort" to put up an "artificial road block" preventing the Thompson Center's sale.

Emanuel dismissed the offer as the governor's latest salvo in the escalating war of words.

"I know a political act and a stunt when I see one," Emanuel said, calling on the governor to work on balancing the state's budget.

CPS's deficit was created when Rauner vetoed a bill in November that would have given Chicago's schools $215 million to help pay its pension bill.

Rauner said Illinois Senate Presiden John Cullerton broke a compromise signed last June that allowed schools to open in September. Part of that deal promised more money for Chicago schools in return for statewide "pension reform," a long-held goal of the governor.

CPS must pay its employees' pension fund $721 million by June 30.

Rauner's proposal to earmark the property tax revenue from a replacement for the Thompson Center would have to be approved by the Illinois General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats who have long been at loggerheads with the Republican governor.

However, even under Rauner's plan CPS wouldn't see an extra dime for "years and years," said Adam Collins, a spokesman for the mayor.

Decrying what he called "decades of mismangement" at CPS, Rauner said the proposal was to help put CPS's long-term finances on firmer footing.

Rauner said if Emanuel is happy with the station at Clark and Lake streets the way it is, the state would be happy to pay $1 million to put "a shell over the station" while the building was torn down and rebuilt.

However, Rauner also said he wants the city to change the rules governing the height of the building to maximize the value of the property for state taxpayers, which Rauner said could fetch $300 million.

Building a new structure under the existing zoning rules would mean the property would sell for less than $200 million — a "bad deal" at a time when the governor said the market for Downtown office space was "strong."

If a significantly taller structure is to be built on the city block bounded by Lake, Randolph, Clark streets and LaSalle Drive, the underground station would have to be rebuilt to support its weight, city officials said. That could cost between $80-$120 million, Emanuel said — estimates disputed by state officials.

If the building is not sold, the state is on the hook for $326 million in deferred maintenance to the blue and red glass building designed by star Chicago architect Helmut Jahn.

Speaking to reporters in front of a series of brightly colored pipes in the bowels of the Thompson Center, Rauner said it was not worth fixing the landmark building.

"It would be terrible use of taxpayer money," Rauner said.

Several times, the governor — who is seeking a second term in 2018 — said the decision to sell the Thompson Center would be a "home run for state and city taxpayers."

In February, Madigan endorsed Rauner's plan to sell the Thompson Center, which is named after former Gov. James R. Thompson and opened in 1985. Since then, he has blasted the governor for failing to work with Chicago officials.

Rauner first called to sell the Thompson Center in 2015, saying the 17-story postmodern office building is "ineffective," "inefficient" and "in disrepair."

Rauner has even enlisted star Chicago architect Adrian Smith to design renderings showing the potential of the Thompson Center site in the heart of the Loop.

RELATED: 

Rahm: I'm Blocking Thompson Center Sale So We Don't Get Stuck With CTA Tab

New Renderings Show Promise Of Thompson Center Site, Rauner Hopes

Rauner Plans to Sell Thompson Center, Architect Helmut Jahn Hopes it Stays

Thompson Center, Other Chicago Spots On List Of Endangered State Buildings