Expert: Possible Thompson Center Sale Is Small, Positive Sign

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Governor Bruce Rauner have not seen eye to eye on much, but the possible sale of the James R. Thompson Center seems to be a rare point of agreement.

WBBM's Nancy Harty reports.

The democratic speaker ordered a house committee Friday morning to review the sale, lease or redevelopment of the state of Illinois building in The Loop.

Laurence Msall, head of a government budget analysis group called the Civic Federation, said this as a positive development.

"But we need to be clear, while this may be a positive step in the right direction, it's very small step," he said.

Msall said the roughly $220 million the sale is estimated to bring in would do little for the state's $5 billion budget deficit.

"They should not rush to sell the building, just because they failed to maintain it and it's expensive now because of short-term decisions," he said.

Msall said the building is in "dire condition" because of the state's failure to invest in maintenance. There's some $326 million in repairs needed for the Helmut Jahn-designed, atrium-style glass structure.

Msall also said taxpayers have already contributed the equivalent of $400 million for the building, and there's a chance the state gets about half of that back in any sale.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.