Public-Private Partnerships a sound method for funding planned transportation investments, says business leaders

Elgin-O’Hare Extension/O’Hare Bypass featured as case study in new report on how Partnerships would support needed projects

February 1, 2006

( Chicago ) … As statewide growth pressures increase demand for new transportation investments, Illinois ’ fiscal well is running dry – and with it, the availability of funding to support new, carefully planned projects. To preserve the Chicago-area’s competitiveness by maintaining and expanding our roads, rails and airways, the state should look to Public-Private Partnerships as an alternative funding stream that can free up limited resources for other priorities, said northeastern Illinois ’ Business Leaders for Transportation coalition at a news conference today.

“Public-Private Partnerships can help deliver quality multi-modal transportation infrastructure statewide, while minimizing the state’s need to raise additional public revenue or take on hefty new debt,” said John S. Gates, Jr., chair of Business Leaders’ Public-Private Partnerships Committee, and immediate past chair of the Metropolitan Planning Council. “We recommend state leaders adopt legislation this session to enable Partnerships to play a strong role in transportation investments in Illinois .” During the audio news conference, Gates and other Business Leaders members discussed findings from the coalition’s new report, “Making the Case for Public-Private Partnerships in Illinois .” The report’s first section outlines the need for a new way to fund planned transportation projects in Illinois . The state has not dedicated funds to invest in infrastructure since Illinois FIRST expired in 2004. The reason: the state lacks sufficient resources to maintain the existing system, much less pay for service expansion or match funding Congress authorized last summer for many new projects through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). Without state dollars to match the federal earmarks, much-needed planned projects will continue to be on the back burner – an unacceptable scenario, since the Chicago region’s continued competitiveness relies heavily upon steady investment in our transportation systems, according to Business Leaders members.

“Chicago is what it is today – a global commerce center, popular tourism destination, and one of the top three transportation hubs in the world – in large part because we have prioritized investments in the transportation systems that have made us so successful over the past century,” said Gerald R. Roper, president and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. “Without money to nourish these systems, the entire region will suffer.”

Continued investment in regionally significant projects – such as the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency plan (CREATE), and Elgin-O’Hare Extension/O’Hare Bypass – is necessary to prevent the Chicago area and Illinois from losing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in business to competing states.

To illustrate how Partnerships can help the region and state avert such losses, the report features a case study illustrating the potential and feasibility of financing construction of the Elgin-O’Hare Extension/O’Hare Bypass with a Partnership. The Elgin-O’Hare Extension/O’Hare Bypass has been widely supported for many years due to its more direct connection to O’Hare International Airport and beyond, as well as its potential to improve freight movement and support business development around the airport. In addition, the construction, maintenance and management of the road would create jobs and expand travel choices for Illinois residents.

“Though the Elgin-O’Hare Extension/O’Hare Bypass has been on the region’s wish list for many years, Illinois has been unable to afford to build it using public money or current tolls – and we’re unlikely to be able to afford it in the future without the use of a Public-Private Partnership,” said Thomas H. Morsch, Jr., former director of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and co-chair of the Metropolitan Planning Council’s (MPC) Transportation Committee. “Our study indicates that the project has the potential to generate an estimated $905 million in private equity, freeing up limited state resources that could be used as a match for other planned improvements in Illinois .”

”Making the Case for Public-Private Partnerships in Illinois ” is available on Business Leaders for Transportation’s Web site, www.businessleadersfortransportation.org . Please contact Kim Grimshaw Bolton, MPC communications director, at 312-863-6020 or kbolton@metroplanning.org, for more information.

Business Leaders for Transportation was created in 1997 to operate as a collective voice for Chicago-area employers, providing advocacy for policy and funding on surface transportation issues critical to the region. The coalition is co-led by Chicago Metropolis 2020, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and Metropolitan Planning Council.

For more information, contact John S. Gates, Jr. , co-chairman, CenterPoint Properties Trust, and chair, Business Leaders for Transportation Public-Private Partnerships Committee, at 312-578-1600 or jgates@centerpoint-prop.com ; Thomas H. Morsch, Jr. , senior vice president, Marsh, Inc., and former director, Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, at 312-627-6352 or Thomas.Morsch@marsh.com ; Bernard J. Ford, Sr. , senior vice president, McDonough Associates, Inc., and chair, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee, at 312-946-8600 or bford@maiengr.com ; or Frank Beal , executive director, Chicago Metropolis 2020, at 312-332-8188 or frank.h.beal@cm2020.org .

Learn more about Business Leaders for Transportation at www.businessleadersfortransportation.org .