A nearly two year old bill to help the state get rid of surplus property championed by 50th District State Senator Steve McClure was signed into law Friday.
Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the state Surplus Property Disposal Act, a bi-partisan bill reintroduced this past Spring by McClure, who is a Republican, and 43rd District Democrat Senator John Connor and Rockford Democrat Senator Steve Stadleman.
The bill makes significant changes concerning transfers and sales of surplus real estate owned by the State of Illinois.
McClure says it may help get the Jacksonville Developmental Center grounds sold in the long term: “It’s going to make it inevitably easier to try to get rid of the property in Jacksonville that’s been – let’s face it – just totally blighted and run down through no fault of the people of Jacksonville; but quite frankly, all the fault lies with our state. This is just going to make it a little bit easier to move that property because I think everybody at this point has agreed to the fact that it’s got to go. We can’t do anything to try to restore the buildings on the property or anything of that nature. We’ve got to unload it. It’s going to make it easier to unload the property. Now, other steps are needed to be taken to clean up the property and that sort of a thing, but this is a good first step.”
The bill allows Central Management Services to sell surplus property for no less than 75% of fair market value before such property has been offered to an interested unit of local government or made available at public auction. It provides for a notice period of 30 days in which a state agency or governing body is to notify CMS of their interests in acquiring a surplus state property.
McClure hopes these changes will help clear the path for an entity to step forward to purchase the grounds in Jacksonville and put them back to use.