P3 Bulletin Article by Adam Margolin and Chris Skey Outlines How Pending Illinois Bill Could Boost State’s Public-Private Partnership Activity
Quarles & Brady partners Adam Margolin and Chris Skey, both based in Chicago, wrote an article for P3 Bulletin about how House Bill 2878, recently passed by the Illinois General Assembly, could spur increased public-private partnership (P3) activity in the state.
The bipartisan bill, which features numerous significant amendments to the state’s 2011 Public-Private Partnerships for Transportation Act, is pending further action from the General Assembly after Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued an amendatory veto.
Margolin, who is chair of the firm’s Infrastructure and Public-Private Partnership team, and Skey, also a member of the team, explain in their article that House Bill 2878 would broaden the range of municipalities allowed to pursue P3 projects.
An excerpt:
Under current Illinois law, by virtue of certain combined authorities contained in the P3 Act itself and the Illinois Constitution’s provisions pertaining to “home rule” local governments, the P3 delivery method is generally limited to (i) the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) or the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA); and (ii) Illinois municipalities that possess home rule powers. Home rule municipalities represent approximately 15% of the total number of Illinois municipalities.
Perhaps the most significant component of the P3 Bill is its extension of the P3 model to Illinois local units of government that are not home rule municipalities. Thus, the P3 Bill would facilitate P3 projects for the 85% of municipalities that are not home rule, as well as for other local units of government, such as counties, townships, park districts, and school districts.