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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The 2009 Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction
3plan was passed by overwhelming majorities in both the Illinois
4Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Illinois Jobs Now! was signed into law by Governor
6Pat Quinn, the first capital construction plan in nearly 10
7years; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Illinois Jobs Now! has or will support 439,000
9construction jobs over the 6-year span of the plan; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The plan is the largest capital construction plan
11in Illinois history, with a combined cost of $31 billion in
12State and federal funds; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly is especially
14sensitive to the fact that State finances are at historic lows
15and fiscal resources are precious; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Taxpayers are demanding that their tax dollars be
17spent wisely; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The Chicago Sun-Times recently revealed that the
19renovation of 3 pairs of State Capitol doors cost at least

 

 

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1$669,608; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The Chicago Sun-Times recently reported that at
3least $481,364 was spent on 4 chandeliers and 2 sculptures; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The cost of these doors, chandeliers, and
5sculptures has surprised many lawmakers, who have openly
6questioned the propriety of such spending during a time of
7economic crisis; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The integrity of the Capitol renovation project
9has been cast into doubt; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Lawmakers would like to analyze the cost of the
11renovation project and determine whether the funds provided for
12other components of the renovation were wisely spent, given the
13State's fiscal realities; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
16SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Auditor General is
17directed to investigate individual expenditures of the
18Illinois State Capitol West Wing renovations and determine
19whether said spending was appropriate and prudent; and be it
20further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the investigation shall include
2recommendations for reducing the cost of individual
3expenditures for on-going renovations that are deemed
4inappropriate; and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That the Office of the Capitol Architect shall
6provide all documentation and cooperation necessary for this
7investigation; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That the Illinois Auditor General shall report
9the findings of its investigation to the Illinois General
10Assembly no later than January 1, 2014.