For the fifth time, a collection of bipartisan legislators, University officials, local business leaders and union members stood outside the now closed Lincoln Hall and advocated for the proposed Illinois Works capital plan – which remains in limbo in the Illinois House of Representatives.

The speakers called on the General Assembly to pass the plan this summer, which includes funding for roads and bridges, as well as almost $300 million for use by the University to, among other things, renovate Lincoln Hall.

“It’s time we put aside the partisanship, it’s time we put aside petty politics, it’s time we put aside the personal vendettas. We don’t want to have a sixth press conference in front of Lincoln Hall,” said State Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville. “The next press conference we have in front of Lincoln Hall, we want to be with a shovel in hand, and we want to be digging dirt, starting construction.”

The legislators present at the conference pointed to the cooperation across party lines on the bill, which Bill Black, R-Danville, stressed “is not a political issue. It’s a bipartisan effort.”

What Hoffman referred to as “parliamentary maneuvering” prevented the capital plan, which would be the state’s first in nine years, from reaching the voting process on May 31. Drafted based off a set of recommendations provided by Former Speaker of the U.S. House J. Dennis Hastert and Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard, the bill includes $55 million for renovations to Lincoln Hall, $18.9 million for a Post Harvest Crop Research Lab, and $42 million for construction of an Electrical and Computer Engineering Building, with $124.8 million also allocated to the University for repairs and capital improvement.

Though the plan found a majority of support in the Illinois Senate, it has stalled in the House.

“I believe if not for one person, and that would be (Illinois Speaker of the House) Michael Madigan, we now would be celebrating the $55 million that would have gone towards Lincoln Hall because it would have passed overwhelmingly in a bipartisan fashion on May 31,” Hoffman said. “I guarantee you the governor would have signed it, and we’d be standing here today celebrating.”

Black, an alumnus of the University, recalled Lincoln Hall as being “in bad shape” when he took classes there more than 40 years ago. Without capital, according to Black, the state’s ability to improve schools, roads and bridges is very limited.

“Put our people to work, and put our infrastructure back in the 21st century, and bring it out of the 19th century,” Black said. “Two or three years from now, I hope we can come back and see students utilizing a Lincoln Hall that is worthy of this campus, worthy of this University and worthy of the students who matriculate here and need modern, up-to-date facilities.”

Aside from allocating money to the University, the Illinois Works plan also seeks to improve the state’s road and bridges.

Christine Reed, who serves as the Illinois Department of Transportation Director of Highways, emphasized the situation is in dire need of capital funding.

Reed explained that over 40 bridges in Illinois now have load restrictions, forcing some trucks to take 40 to 50-mile detours.

For Reed, the sooner the Illinois Works capital plan is passed, the better.

“If we have another winter like last winter our roads and bridges are going to be in deplorable form,” Reed said. “We have to start investing this summer to make sure that Illinois stays at the forefront of the economy.”