HJ0063eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0063 Engrossed LRB100 12988 MST 27143 r

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 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 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;

(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 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.