Bill Text: IL HJR0063 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Calls upon the State of Illinois and its operating units, including but not limited to the Department of Central Management Services, to immediately suspend the drafting, negotiation, perfection, and signing of any lease on any parcel of real property, and that this suspension is to continue until the conclusion of the audit of the Department of Human Services currently being conducted under the supervision of the Legislative Audit Commission.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 18-3)

Status: (Passed) 2017-06-29 - Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Cristina Castro [HJR0063 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HJR0063-Enrolled.html

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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 63
WHEREAS, The State of Illinois and its operating units are
currently experiencing a fiscal situation that is demanding the
close attention of the people of Illinois; and
WHEREAS, The State of Illinois and its operating units are
constantly incurring millions of dollars of expenses every day
just to continue to operate, with much of these operating
expenses being piled up into what is now a backlog of more than
$14 billion in unpaid State bills; and
WHEREAS, One element of these overall operating costs, and
of the State's unpaid bill backlog, are the moneys paid by the
State and its taxpayers to rent or lease parcels of real
property; and
WHEREAS, Serious questions have arisen as to the
interrelationship between some of the lease agreements entered
into by the State in recent months, the actual market values of
the properties being leased, the lease payments that would be
paid if their properties were leased in an arm's length
transaction between independent parties, and the overall
fiscal situation of the State; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE

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HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE
CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Auditor General is directed to
conduct a performance audit of the State's decision to enter
into a five-year, $2.4 million lease for property at 2410 South
Grand Ave. East, Springfield, Illinois ("lease"); and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the audit include, but not be limited to,
the following determinations:
(1) The justification for the space request by the
Department of Human Services (DHS), including the location
and condition of the premises where the records were
previously stored and the functions were previously
performed ("existing space");
(2) Whether the Department of Central Management
Services (CMS) or other appropriate State agencies
considered renovating the existing space and, if so, what
projections were made for the cost of renovating the
existing space;
(3) Whether CMS considered the availability of other
State-owned or leased space before the decision to enter
into a new lease was made, including what specific
State-owned or leased properties were reviewed prior to

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making the decision to enter into a new lease;
(4) Whether CMS conducted an analysis of the
cost-benefit of purchasing instead of leasing the property
at 2410 South Grand Ave. East, Springfield, Illinois,
including costs associated with renovating and maintaining
the property;
(5) Whether DHS or any other appropriate State agency
has conducted a cost-benefit analysis comparing the costs
of digitizing records as compared to maintaining records in
hard copy form, including the costs of storage, access, and
travel, if any, to retrieve hard copy records for various
official purposes, as well as the security risks of
confidential records in one form as compared to the other;
(6) The role of the Procurement Policy Board ("Board")
in reviewing the lease, including whether the Board has any
conflict-of-interest procedures for members to recuse
themselves because of personal, professional, or financial
relationships;
(7) Identification of the persons involved in the
procurement, and their respective roles and
responsibilities;

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(8) The process, time frame, and coordination followed
by CMS in examining the lease requirements and advertising
the procurement opportunity, including any steps taken to
ensure adequate competition;
(9) Whether any confidential information was shared
between the CMS leasing agent and any of the bidders or
potential bidders in the procurement process;
(10) The decision of CMS to proceed with the warehouse
lease after receiving only one bid; and
(11) Whether relationships between the seller of the
property ("Barney's"), the buyer of the property, and the
chairman of the Procurement Policy Board played a role in
the warehouse lease; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we call upon the State of Illinois and its
operating units, including, but not limited to, the Department
of Central Management Services, to immediately suspend the
drafting, negotiation, perfection, and signing of any lease on
any parcel of real property, and that this suspension is to
continue until the conclusion of the audit directed by this
resolution; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services, the

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Department of Central Management Services, the Procurement
Policy Board, and any other State agency or other entity having
information relevant to this audit shall cooperate fully and
promptly with the Auditor General's Office in the conduct of
this audit; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as
soon as possible and report his findings and recommendations
upon completion in accordance with the provisions of Section
3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it further
RESOLVED, That for the purpose of this resolution, the
conclusion of this audit shall not be deemed to have taken
place until the Legislative Audit Commission has reviewed the
findings of this audit in a public meeting, and the General
Assembly has been accorded adequate time on its legislative
calendar to take any actions that may be reasonably deemed
necessary or desirable to implement any recommendations made by
the audit and to remedy any problems or dysfunctions uncovered
by the audit; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution shall be
presented to Governor Bruce Rauner; Michael Hoffman, the Acting
Director of Central Management Services; Frank J. Mautino,
Auditor General; and Jane Stricklin, the Executive Director of
the Legislative Audit Commission.