Executive Report

Bonds sold, refinanced

ILLINOIS held two bond sales recently, one to take advantage of lower interest rates, the other to finance state projects. Taking advantage of the recent drop in interest rates, the state sold $200 million in general obligation bonds at a rate of 7.15 percent March 26 to refund bonds issued over the last five years, according to Bureau of the Budget chief Robert L. Mandeville.

This is the first time the state has ever refunded such bonds in advance, Mandeville said. The state should save about $19 million in interest over the life of the bonds, with an annual savings of $800,000. A 1984 law authorizes the state to reissue such bonds in order to reduce debt service. Continental Bank of Chicago came in with the low bid. The refunding bonds mature from April 1, 1987, to April 1, 2009.

The second sale, held May 20, was for $190 million in general obligations bonds. The state accepted a bid of 7.49 percent from the First Boston Corporation, marking the third successive bond sale at below 8 percent. The state had originally planned to sell only $90 million in bonds, but favorable market conditions and uncertainties about the effects of pending federal legislation on future bond sales prompted the increase, according to Mandeville.

The bonds will be used to fund $98 million in transportation projects, $75 million in capital development projects, $20 million in anti-pollution projects and $10 million in coal development projects.

Nora Newman Jurgens

States sign pact to protect Great Lakes

A COMPREHENSIVE agreement to ensure the ecological safety of the Great Lakes was reached by the governors of the states which border them. The Great Lakes Toxic Substance Control Agreement was signed May 21 by the six members of the Council of Great Lakes Governors and the governors of two other states bordering the lakes.

Under the agreement, the governors are committed to managing the Great Lakes as one integrated ecosystem, cooperating to monitor and manage the water resources, and improving information systems and the ability to analyze technical data. In addition, the agreement sets up some specific goals and timetables, including a September 1, 1986, deadline for agreement on coordinating the control of toxic pollution in the Great Lakes, or in other words, uniform regulations in the eight U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario. Recommendations are to be developed by January 31, 1987, for interstate cooperation in hazardous waste-management planning.

The agreement represents a major advancement toward interstate and international cooperation in the management of the world's largest system of freshwater lakes, according to Richard J. Carlson, director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). Gov. James R. Thompson, who chairs the Great Lakes Council, said the agreement is a recognition of the growing threat of toxic contamination of the water supply. A separate agreement with the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, which border the Great Lakes, will be drawn up, according to Carlson.

The issue centers around the permitting process, which is controlled by individual states. States issue permits to industries and local governments, setting allowable limits under federal law for discharging air and water pollution. The states need to develop uniform standards regulating such emissions, Carlson said.

Currently Illinois does not allow its industries and municipalities to discharge wastes into Lake Michigan, but one of the first actions under the agreement will be a determination of how much toxic air pollution is emitted in Illinois. Joining Thompson in signing the agreement were council members James J. Blanchard, Michigan; Rudy Perpich, Minnesota; Richard F. Celeste, Ohio; Robert D. Orr, Indiana; and Anthony S. Earl, Wisconsin. Also participating were Gov. Mario M. Cuomo of New York and Gov. Dick Thornburgh of Pennsylvania.

Nora Newman Jurgens

36/July 1986/Illinois Issues