Business Leaders for Transportation has concluded it will support a possible lease of the Illinois toll road system if specific conditions are met.
Business
Leaders for Transportation has researched the use of private financing for
public infrastructure as it relates to transportation improvements inIllinois. We are
supportive of the use of Public-Private Partnerships for developing new
facilities such as the O’Hare bypass and Elgin/O’Hare expressway. Since our
research became public, members of Illinois’ General Assembly also have discussed
the use of Public-Private Partnership financing for existing infrastructure
assets, through long-term lease or sale.
In August of this year, the
Government Forecasting and Accountability Commission hired Credit Suisse to
analyze a potential lease of the
Illinois
toll road system. This report
concluded that a lease of the system could generate between $2 billion and $23.8
billion in private equity for the state. The Credit Suisse report noted that
future toll increases were the primary driver of the system’s value, along with
the lease length.
Business Leaders for
Transportation has evaluated the possible lease of the Illinois tollroad system
and has concluded that we will support a lease if all the following conditions
are met:
-
All net proceeds, after repayment of
outstanding debt, received from a lease of the tollroad are reinvested into
transportation projects and improvements, including transit and intermodal
infrastructure and capital planning, in northeast Illinois.
-
None of the funds received from a lease of the tollroad
are used to cover the state’s general operating expenses.
-
The General Assembly works with the Chicago
Metropolitan Agency for Planning and develops clear policies and requirements to
protect the public interest that must be met by any lessee before the state
requests lease proposals.
To date, no proposal has met these
criteria.