Executive Report By SHELLEY DAVIS

Department of Revenue Center
Groundbreaking for the $50 million new Illinois Department of Revenue Center at the corner of Jefferson and Klein streets in Springfield took place April 29. The building is the largest construction project undertaken by the state in Springfield. It will accommodate 3,000 employees and is one of the few facilities in the country that consolidates all state revenue activities into one building. The building will contain about 600,000 square feet of space. A. Epstein & Sons International, Chicago, is the prime architect and Ferry & Henderson Architects of Springfield is the associate architect for the project.

Reorganization: Public Utilities Division
The Governor's Office of Consumer Services (GOSC) will be consolidated with the Public Utilities Section of the Attorney General's Office in a newly created Public Utilities Division effective July 1, according to the offices of the governor and attorney general. The GOCS, established in 1977, was responsible for providing assistance to consumers who wished to testify at Illinois Commerce Commission hearings. Gov. James R. Thompson said he hopes the transfer of duties will eliminate duplication of services and provide a "broader scope of authority and array of services." Approval from the General Assembly is needed for the transfer. Approval by a House subcommittee was secured April 29 for a $316,000 appropriation in the attorney general's budget for the new division.

Tornado and drought disaster areas
The U.S. Small Business Administration declined Gov. James R. Thompson's request for low-interest loans to Madison County businesses and residents who suffered uninsured losses from severe winds and tornadoes that hit the area April 3. Damages in excess of $6.8 million were mainly in Edwardsville and Granite City. However, disaster status will allow for possible property tax reassessments in those areas. The governor also declared Saline County a disaster area April 17 because of severe drought conditions. Although various cities in the area are experiencing a water shortage, Eldorado was the hardest hit, with estimates of a two-week water supply at the time of the declaration.

Time-of-day electrical rates

Central Illinois Light Co. (CILCO) was granted permission to institute a time-of-day rate structure for large residential customers by the Illinois Commerce Commission on April 8. CILCO already has a similar time-of-day rate structure for its commercial and industrial customers. The new rate structure will affect about 2.5 percent of CILCO customers who use 2,500 kilowatt hours or more of electricity in peak summer hours (between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Friday).

Federal help for reforestation

Tree farmers and other nonindustrial landowners will receive federal help in reforesting their land, according to John Sester of the division of forest resources and natural heritage, Illinois Department of Conservation. The federal government is providing a 10 percent investment tax incentive in the year of investments plus a seven-year amortization for capitalized reforestation expenditures up to $10,000 per year for the cost of seedlings, seeds, tools and labor involved in planting.

Illinois Industrial Training Program

The state will provide $263,170 to the Flender Corporation for the training of 18 supervisory personnel at the firm's new plant in Elgin, according to Gov. James R. Thompson. More than half of the funding, $154,615, will be provided by the Illinois Industrial Training Program (ITP), a state-funded program administered by the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. The rest of the money will come from the State Board of Education's High Impact Training Service. ITP pays a portion of the salaries new workers receive while being trained. Initiated in February 1980, the program to date has funded training for 511 workers at a cost of $544,805. The Flender Corporation, headquartered in Bocholt, West Germany, will open its Elgin plant in July. The plant will initially employ 125 persons with plans to eventually employ 600.

Hazardous chemical program expanded

The Illinois Department of Public Health received a $475,000 federal grant in April to expand its environmental toxicology program and establish a prevention program over the next two years. Illinois ranks fifth in industrial production and fourth in agricultural production, according to department director William L. Kempiners, and thus the state has an increasing potential for human exposure to hazardous chemicals.

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CIPS granted rate hike
The Central Illinois Public Service Company (CIPS) was granted a rate increase of 9.6 percent, or $30 million for electric, and 5.3 percent, or $4.5 million for gas, by the Illinois Commerce Commission in March. The general revenue increase granted was 49 percent below the request made by CIPS. CIPS was last granted an electric rate hike (7.6 percent) in December 1979; its last gas rate increase (1.7 percent) was granted in April 1978.

Union Electric granted increase
Union Electric Company was granted a 10 percent general revenue increase that will bring in an additional $10.7 million annually. The Illinois Commerce Commission approved the increase in April; the utility had asked for a 14.32 percent increase. The commission denied the company's request for almost $19 million for construction-work-in-progress costs. Union Electric's last rate hike was in February 1978, when it received a 10.9 percent increase.

Water rationing charges approved
Water rationing charges have been instituted by the Eldorado Water Company, whose reservoir level has fallen to a 12-day water supply for the community. Approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission, charges of $1 per 100 gallons for the first 1,000 gallons above the maximum allowance and $5 per 100 gallons for all additional water used will be put in a special fund and returned to customers who use less than their allotments when the water emergency ends.

Campaign financial reports
Political candidates running for federal offices will be required after May 1 to file expenditure reports with the State Board of Elections. The change in requirements is in response to an amendment added to the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 requiring federal candidates to file campaign expenditure reports in the same location as those filed by local candidates. Previously, federal candidates filed reports with the Secretary of State's Office.

$40,000 pledged for soundstage study
Grants of $20,000 each have been pledged by the state and Chicago for a study to assess the costs and benefits of locating a motion picture soundstage in Chicago. Legislative approval is needed for the state's $20,000 contribution. Both grants were given in March. The Labor Institute for Human Enrichment, Inc., will use the grants to study the economic impact of a soundstage on industry, unions and ancillary services. The Department of Commerce and Community Affairs is the lead agency working on locating a soundstage in the state. The agency said that Illinois would be an ideal site because of its different "looks" for scenery and lower costs than such places as New York. A soundstage would also be a new revenue source for the state.

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