Section 30 ILCS 558/25-5 - Public policy and legislative findings(a) It is in the best interest of the State of Illinois to encourage private investment in public transit-oriented infrastructure projects with broad economic development, civic and diversity equity, and community impacts, and to encourage related private development activities that will generate new State and local revenues to fund such public infrastructure, as well as to fund other statewide priorities.(b) Existing methods of procurement and financing of transit-oriented public infrastructure projects serving the needs of the public limit the State's ability to access underutilized private land for such public infrastructure projects and to encourage private, tax-generating development on and adjacent to such public infrastructure projects.(c) A private entity has proposed a civic and transit infrastructure project, to be completed in one or more phases, which presents an opportunity for a prudent State investment that will develop a major public transit infrastructure asset that has the potential to connect Metra, the South Shore Line, Amtrak, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, the Chicago Transportation Authority, bus service, and a central-area circulator transit system while bringing significant civic, economic, and fiscal benefits to the State.(d) It is in the best interest of the State to authorize the public agency to enter into a public-private partnership with the private entity, whereby the private entity will develop, finance, construct, operate, and manage the Civic and Transit Infrastructure Project as necessary public infrastructure in the State, and for the State to utilize a portion of future State revenues to ultimately acquire the civic build as an asset of the State.(e) The private entity will be accountable to the People of Illinois through a comprehensive system of oversight, auditing, and reporting, and shall meet, at a minimum, the State's utilization goals for business enterprises established in the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act as established for similar infrastructure projects in the State. The private entity will establish and manage a comprehensive Targeted Business and Workforce Participation Program for the Civic and Transit Infrastructure Project that establishes definitive goals and objectives associated with the professional and construction services, contracts entered into, and hours of the workforce employed in the development of the Civic and Transit Infrastructure Project. The Targeted Business and Workforce Participation Program will emphasize the expansion of business capacity and workforce opportunity that can be sustained among minority, women, disabled, and veteran businesses and individuals that are contracted or employed under the Targeted Business and Workforce Participation Program developed for the Civic and Transit Infrastructure Project.(f) The utilization of a portion of the State's sales tax to repay the cost of its public-private partnership with the private entity for the development, financing, construction, operation, and management of the Civic and Transit Infrastructure Project is of benefit to the State for the reasons that the State would not otherwise derive the revenue from the Civic and Transit Infrastructure Project, or the private development on and adjacent to the Civic and Transit Infrastructure Project, without the public-private partnership, and the State or a political subdivision thereof will ultimately own the Civic and Transit Infrastructure Project.(g) It is found and declared that the implementation of the Civic and Transit Infrastructure Project through a public-private partnership as provided under this Act has the ability to reduce unemployment in the State, create new jobs, expand the business and workforce capacity among minority, woman, disabled and veteran businesses and individuals, improve mobility and opportunity for the People of the State of Illinois, and, by the provision of new public infrastructure and private development, greatly enhance the overall tax base and strengthen the economy of the State.(h) In order to provide for flexibility in meeting the financial, design, engineering, and construction needs of the State, and its agencies and departments, and in order to provide continuing and adequate financing for the Civic and Transit Infrastructure Project on favorable terms, the delegations of authority to the public agency, the State Comptroller, the State Treasurer and other officers of the State that are contained in this Act are necessary and desirable.Added by P.A. 101-0010,§ 25-5, eff. 6/5/2019.