Governor Blagojevich on Gambling

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Did fund transfers doom Monterey?
Coal development money went to prop up Chicago mass transit

December 02, 2007

State Journal Register
By DEBRA LANDIS

Bond money in a state coal development fund might have been useful in helping keep the Monterey No. 1 coal mine open, but instead is helping mass transit in Chicago, Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville, said Saturday.


The mine, near Carlinville, is closing Dec. 31 - a move that will result in about 350 employees, including miners and non-union workers, losing their jobs. Sixty employees have already been laid off.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich said last month money provided to Chicago's public transportation, which includes trains and buses moving throughout the city and to Chicago suburbs, was already in the budget for transportation projects.

However, a review of state records by The Associated Press showed Blagojevich transferred $10.2 million in bond money reserved for coal development and alternative-energy projects, $7.4 million for highway construction and $4.8 million for general building projects.

Lawmakers have said the transfers are legal but take money from other needy projects.

"The money that was transferred in came from funds that would have been appropriated throughout the state," Sen. Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, told the AP. "Essentially, what we have is a statewide bailout for the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority)."

Watson, whose district includes the Monterey No. 1 coal mine near Carlinville, said one possibility for money from the coal fund would have been some type of incentive package to prospective buyers of the mine.

"It's not doing much good for coal if the money is going to mass transit in Chicago. The closing of Monterey No. 1 hurts the (coal) industry and it hurts people," he said.

ExxonMobil said in November it was negotiating a sale of the Monterey mine and expected the sale to be completed by the end of the year. Those talks fell through, with a closing date of Dec. 31 announced.

The Monterey mine previously received money from the state for coal projects, but money from a state coal development fund could not have been used to help keep the mine open, according to Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff.

Ottenhoff said the administration is working with state Sen. Deanna Demuzio, D-Carlinville, to examine what, if anything, the state could do to help keep the mine open - and if that is not possible, what could be done to help laid-off workers find other jobs.

Chicago mass transit officials last month said employee layoffs, service cuts and fare hikes would occur without more money from the state. Lawmakers were unable to agree on a long-term funding solution by the time Blagojevich announced the stopgap measure to help the transit systems.

Watson said he and other legislators are talking about the fiscal dangers of what he called "sweeping" from one fund earmarked for specific activities to pay for something else unrelated.

Monterey miners received notice in November under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The act requires employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and mass layoffs. It also applies to sales expected to result in closings or layoffs.

ExxonMobil, which had Monterey mine on the market for more than a year, declined to say who was negotiating to buy it.
 

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