State preference on hiring military veterans

AN AGREEMENT between officials from the Department of Central Management Services and the Vietnam Leadership Organization which gives further preference to military veterans in state hiring was announced by Gov. James R. Thompson in November.

The new plan upgrades the state's current policy and incorporates quotas in the hiring system. Under the plan, an agency that has more than one vacancy must fill at least half the vacancies with veterans who meet the basic qualifications. In the case of an agency having a single vacancy, a veteran can be bypassed only when a nonveteran has superior education, work experience or job-related personal attributes. When an agency interviews 15 veterans and then turns to the nonveteran list, it must interview the same number of nonveterans before hiring a nonveteran. This program began on November 16 for a one-year trial period, which may be extended after that time.

Mental health centers to close in Galesburg, Manteno; new prison to be built in Galesburg

THE Galesburg and Manteno mental health care centers will be phased out by the end of 1985, according to Gov. James R. Thompason; Galesburg was then named by Thompson as the site for a new medium-security prison.

The governor had visited the Elgin, Galesburg and Manteno mental health facilities in September for a first-hand view and said he also considered recommendations from the Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (DMHDD) concerning the closure of two of these three centers. Elgin will remain in operation, Thompson said, because it is an important "acute care" facility and that closing it would have a detrimental effect on community services in the Chicago area.

The closings, announced November 29, are part of the state's consolidation of its mental health system. "Even with a 50 percent decline in population over the past 10 years," the governor said, "Illinois only has three fewer institutions. No other urban state has so many institutions for so few inpatients. We cannot afford old, large and expensive facilities in the mental health system, and the taxpayers of Illinois should not have to pay for them any longer." The closings are expected to save $16 million in net operating costs annually by fiscal year 1986, and provide more money for community-based care. The Galesburg facility covers 157 acres and consists of 120 buildings for its 680 patients. Manteno houses more than 650 patients on 318 acres with 71 buildings. Patients from the two centers will be transferred to community facilities and other state institutions. Together each facility now employs almost 900 people.

Prior to announcing the closings, the governor said, "A decision to close facilities of this size and nature has profound effects not only on the institution in the community but also on the surrounding community as a whole and above all on the Mental Health system whose viability can only be maintained if a proper balance is struck between state and community Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities program." Manteno, Thompson pointed out, is within 40 miles of five other DMHDD institutions, which will make it easier for staff to find employment.

As for Galesburg and its new state prison, the site under consideration consists of a 20-acre state owned tract of land on the west edge of the city along with 60 1/2 acres which the city will donate. The new prison is expected to be completed in approximately two years at a cost of $38 million. (For more information on the new prison plan, see "The state of the State," p. 4.)

Energy conservation funds for institutions

THE U.S. Department of Energy approved recommendations from the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) in October and allocated $12.4 million in federal grant money to 129 Illinois schools, hospitals and other institutions to help pay for energy conservation. This award, which is part of the Institutional Conservation Program, is the largest Illinois has received in the program's five-year history. Congress originally allocated $2.8 million, but additional funds were made available through the federal jobs bill and a distribution resulting from the settlement of an action against oil companies for overcharging consumers.

Under the program, 46 institutions received a total of $388,729 to pay for technical analysis to determine more efficient and less costly uses of energy, while 83 school systems, universities and hospitals received $11,982,660 for the purchase and installation of energy-saving equipment. These institutions applied for the grant money through ENR.

State makes $120 million bond sale

ILLINOIS sold $120 million in general obligation bonds November 15 to the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York at an interest rate of 8.85 percent. This sale marks the third time this year that the state has sold bonds at a rate lower than 9 percent.

Two other bids were received: one from Chase Manhattan Capital Markets Corporation at 8.86 percent and the other from First National Bank of Chicago at a rate of 8.89 percent. The last general obligation bond sale took place last July when Citibank of Chicago purchased $150 million in bonds at an interest rate of 8.76 percent.

This current sale reflects continued confidence on the part of investors in the state's financial situation. Such confidence was strengthened in early November when the state retained a Triple A bond rating from Moody's Investors Services and a Double A+ from Standard & Poor's.

The bonds from the November 15 sale have equal maturities of $4.8 million due on December 1 of each year beginning in 1984 and running through 2008. Interest is payable semi-annually each year. Funds from the sale will be used for road and bridge repair, mass transit expansion, public construction and water pollution control projects. Breakdown by bonds is $60 million in capital development, $30 million in Series A transportation, $20 million in Series B transportation and $10 million in antipollution bonds.

January 1984/Illinois Issues/39