Department of Aging plans move from rent-free spot to $500K location

The Illinois Department on Aging plans to move from two state-owned locations in Springfield where it pays no rent into a private office building where it will lease space for more than $530,000 a year.

The department said the move was in the works before the state's financial problems hit and that it will enable all department employees to be in one location.

However, Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, chairman of the House Goverment Administration Committee, called the move "absolutely ridiculous."

"At a time we have a $15 billion deficit, this makes no economic sense," Franks said. "I can't even begin to express my displeasure enough to stop this bone-headed move. The timing is bad. Even if a move was really necessary right now, I'd still hold off."

Beginning July 1, Aging will lease space in the Jefferson Terrace office building in the 300 block of West Jefferson Street in Springfield. Information posted on the state's procurement Web site said the state will lease 49,214 square feet of space for five years at a total cost of $3.3 million. That comes to about $662,000 a year, or $13.45 a square foot.

However, the Department of Central Management Services, which is in charge of state leasing, said the state will not be paying that much for the space. CMS spokeswoman Alka Nayyar said the state will be getting a break on that listed price and will pay $10.81 a square foot the first year. That comes to just more than $532,000.

A copy of the lease has not yet been filed with the comptroller's office and CMS was unable to provide a copy immediately. The Jefferson Terrace building is owned by Springfield Realtor Charles Robbins.

"CMS obtained a competitive gross rent rate at the building known as Jefferson Terrace," Nayyar said in an e-mailed response to questions. "The building is in the Capitol Complex area and provides close proximity to downtown, with ample parking at no additional cost to the state for public and employee use."

Nayyar also said CMS looked for state-owned space that could be used by Aging but couldn't find any that met the agency's needs.

The Aging employees moving to the Jefferson Terrace building are now in two locations: in the Department of Revenue building across the street from Jefferson Terrace and from the Herndon Building at 421 E. Capitol Ave. The state bought the Herndon building in the 1980s.

About 140 employees in total are moving to Jefferson Terrace, said Aging spokeswoman Kimberly Parker. That includes 38 permanent full-time equivalents who work in the Revenue building answering public questions about the state's circuit breaker benefit. Revenue spokeswoman Sue Hofer described it as a kiosk in Revenue's lobby that is manned by three to five people at a time.

"The agency's programs have grown, so the goal is to consolidate (Aging) operations and program staff into a more appropriate office facility," Parker said in an e-mail. "This move has been in the making for years for the director feels having Springfield staff under one roof is vital to running an efficient operation; but more importantly, there were safety concerns with the current space so a move was necessary."

Parker said the Herndon building's basement flooded in May 2006 raising concerns about the building's safety. Nayyar also said there were "questions about air quality and the potential presence of mold, as well citations by the Department of Labor on these health-related issues."

But Secretary of State Jesse White's office, which is responsible for maintaining the Herndon Building, disputes some of those assertions. White spokesman Henry Haupt said the 2006 flood resulted when a nearby city public works project punctured a water line causing water to cascade into the basement. It is not an on-going problem.

After that incident, air quality in the building was monitored on several occasions to ensure there was no mold or other contamination. No violations of air-quality standards were ever uncovered, he said.

Haupt said there were three citations issued by the Department of Labor regarding the Herndon building. All of them, he said, involved record-keeping issues, such as failing to properly post inspection reports.

Jefferson Terrace has had other state tenants. Currently, 28 employees of White's Department of Securities are housed there. About 85 employees of Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias were located there until last summer when the treasurer's office lease expired. Giannoulias moved them to space in the 400 block of West Monroe Street to save about $165,000 a year. The treasurer's office was paying $16.64 a square foot at the Jefferson Terrace building.

Doug Finke can be reached at 217-788-1527 or doug.finke@sj-r.com.